


A Study in Understanding

by MusicPlayer81



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: And Then Some, Asami really threw hands with a 13 year old, Found Family, GET IT TOGETHER EVERYONE, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Multi, Success rates may vary, The Krew takes Gaoling, This is what happens when you don't deal with your feelings, slight wlw pining, to be fair the 13 year old threw hands right back, tw: implied miscarriage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25497703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicPlayer81/pseuds/MusicPlayer81
Summary: This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation at the Chief's ancestral estate, but things quickly go south--or, conversely, how a fist fight, a market trip, and three healers all result in a found family.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 14
Kudos: 86





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! No characters are mine save for my OC Chen Beifong-Bao is courtesy of my friend Braigwen, whose fics you should also check out! If you're interested in more about Chen, please see my other fics such as "Returnings," "A Conference for the Books," and "Guess I'm Going with You." Happy reading :)

Asami had always prided herself on asking the questions that needed to be asked. It's why she had been termed a quick study by her numerous governesses, why she had taken to mechanics so easily, why she had melded so easily into the Krew.

She had once prided herself on her ability to read people. Seeing her father's underground basement full of Equalist paraphanalia had long disabused her of that notion.

One thing she never thought she had to question, however, was Chief Beifong. There was never any pretense around the woman, and nothing that happened-even when dark spirits plunged the world into darkness-surprised her. She was steadfast, stubborn, and straightforward to the point of brusqueness and Asami loved her for it. When Beifong had offered her, Mako, and Bolin a place to stay at her estate after Zaheer's capture and after Korra's...Korra, she had absolutely jumped at the chance. She would get time to reflect and heal at a beautiful estate and under the watch of someone she deeply trusted. She could think of nothing more necessary at the moment.

To say that she was shocked by Chen's existence was putting it mildly.

Chen, or more formally, The Honorable Chen Mei-yin Beifong of Gaoling, was Lin's natural born daughter. Chen was Lin's natural born daughter by Tenzin and everything and nothing like either. Chen was open, sweet, and always ready with a kind word or a warm smile. She was a prodigious metalbender, able to gracefully and flawlessly move through her metalbending forms alongside her mother during their morning practices. It dovetailed nicely with her musicianship-so much so that she elected to use metalbending to play her favorite instrument, the guzheng. She glided noiselessly in the elegant daixushans characteristic to Gaoling, yet was so full of mirth and laughter in the way that only innocent children were. She was...well…

She was great. She was the little sister that she and everyone else had always wanted. She just...she got along so much better with virtually everyone but her. And it boggled her mind. What did Chen see in the others that she didn't see in her?

Chen was like Mako's little shadow, following him wherever he went. And Mako didn't mind at all! In fact, by the third day he was making her her favorite noodles, teriyaki chicken-whatever she asked for, he made and then some. And Bolin? Bolin was the type of person who was made to be an older brother, and he took that role in stride when he met Chen. If Chen wasn't reading in the library with Mako, she was hitching piggyback rides from Bolin, their laughter filling the courtyards. But Chen never sought her out, not like she did with the boys. And whenever Asami tried inserting herself into their conversations, or sat in on her guzheng practice, her presence was not _accepted_ so much as merely _tolerated._

It _hurt._

Bolin didn't see how there was a problem, even when Asami laid out the evidence as clearly as possible. Mako had merely shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Maybe you remind her too much of Korra," he said on his way out the door. "Those two were really close according to Beifong."

_She wasn't the only one who missed her,_ Asami muttered under her breath. Korra was amazing. She was brash and brave and strong and Raava, she _liked_ her. If only she had told her as such when she had still had the time…

But that was then, and this was now. And now, she was staying at an estate with an heiress who could barely stay in the same room as her.

Asami was on her way to the kitchen when she saw Chen heading in the same direction from one of the interior courtyards. She was dressed in grey pants and a matching shirt-if Asami squinted, she could barely see the outline of the Republic City Metalbending Police Insignia. Over the training clothes she wore padding on her chest, arms, and legs. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, but her baby hairs were stuck to her temples with sweat. Just as the young teen saw her and was about to turn away, Asami called out to her. "Hey!"

Chen stilled, and Asami jogged over to join her. "I'm just about to boil tea, do you want some?"

The girl hesitated. "Right now? I'm super sweaty from morning conditioning with Mako. I really don't want to stay in these clothes any longer than I have to."

Asami resisted the urge to cross her arms. Based on Chen's past behavior, she'd use this as a way out of seeing her until dinner. It wouldn't work this time. "Look, I know Mako put you through the entirety of his old probending conditioning circuit, and after that circuit he could finish an entire meal and then some before the actual meal."

Chen looked around, hoping for an out, but she wouldn't find one. Now that she was done conditioning, Mako and Bolin had left for the market. Lin, as usual, was on the phone with Saikhan discussing new security protocols. The girl sighed. "If you give me 15 minutes, I'll meet you in the kitchen for tea."

Asami nodded, and watched the girl noiselessly flit past her and enter the main building. Once she had disappeared completely from view, the Sato heiress followed suit, following winding hallways until she found the kitchen. The kitchen was, unsurprisingly for an estate of this magnitude, incredibly spacious. There was multiple of everything, be it stoves, workspaces, or larders. She knew Beifong employed multiple chefs-with this much space, she had to-but Lin could fit an entire restaurant's worth of staff inside and still have room to spare. It made her childhood kitchen, the one her flour-covered self would roller skate through, laughably small by comparison. She opened and closed multiple cabinets until she found what she was looking for: a tea kettle, polished until it gleamed. She set it on the counter and rooted in the nearby drawer for tinder and a stone, which she found neatly tied in a bundle. The last thing she needed was tea. Tea said so much about a person, both the one who chose it and the one who-

"Her favorite kind is cherry blossom."

Startled, she turned on her heel to find Dad. Well, not _Dad,_ but the closest thing Beifong had to one. Bao Beifong (she assumed he had her name) was a retired police officer according to Mako, and one who had raised Lin her entire life. He wasn't her biological father, but he certainly functioned as such. He was soft-spoken and exuded a genuine warmth-so much so that it almost hurt to be around him. To see Lin with him, it was too…too much.

"Her favorite kind is cherry blossom," he repeated. "Tea, I mean. Though honestly, she'll eat anything cherry blossom flavored. Tea cakes, mochi-especially mochi." He strode over to one of the large refrigerators and pulled a large packet out, along with some more substantial scallion pancakes. "You'll want to have these around when she comes in."

Asami hesitantly took them from the older man. "She likes these?"

"Loves them. Especially the scallion pancakes. She'll eat them cold without dipping sauce, that's how much she likes them."

"What are you all talking about?"

The duo turned to find Lin leaning in the doorway, a smile on her lips. It was nice seeing Beifong so relaxed-if anyone deserved it, it was her. That said, seeing Beifong relaxed was one of the most jarring things Asami had ever witnessed in her entire life. "Ah, about to feed Chen, I see. I'd be careful with those pancakes if I were you, those will be gone faster than you think." She turned her gaze to Bao. "Baba, I have a couple questions about stadium security. Are you-"

"Say no more," the man replied, his eyes twinkling as he and his daughter left the kitchen. "I hope you have some schematics set up. I have fond, fond memories of working the first probending matches…"

Asami smiled, their departure leaving a bittersweet taste in her mouth. _That could have been me_ was the first unfiltered thought that ran through her head. _Yeah, but it's not,_ was the rebuttal. Sighing, she opened the kettle and started on the tea. Just as the water was boiling, she heard someone quietly walk in. She looked up to find Chen leaning against the doorway. Her long hair was braided down her back, and she wore a delicate daixushan with diaphanous crimson sleeves. She gently held up the navy skirt, revealing that she was barefoot-truly a Beifong daughter. Her green eyes bored into hers with an unguarded curiosity. She was beautiful, and while that wasn't Chen's defining characteristic, it was hard not to take notice of her striking looks. How Lin had kept her hidden, and so well at that, was truly a testament to her dedication to her work, both as an officer of the law and as a mother.

She wondered how she had kept those spheres of her life so separate. Then again, had they ever truly been?

Chen glided over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a matching set of cups and saucers. They were delicate things-bone china with exquisitely rendered climbing vines in gold. Asami couldn't have imagined that these were used by Lin. Something told her these were an inheritance, one of many in this family heirloom of a house. Chen set the little tea set down on a counter space that had two plush stools tucked underneath. She pulled open a drawer and set out container after container of tea, each one meticulously labelled. There was lapsang souchong, tieguanyin, biluochun, baihao yinzhen. Small wonder Beifong rolled her eyes whenever Bolin left the estate for snacks. She might as well run a teahouse out of her kitchen.

Mengding Ganlu. Da Fang. Huang Qi. Rougui.

Were those not the teas on her father's tea cart? Yes, they were, he kept them in his study for-no. Let's not think about that.

Red lids-Fire Nation imports. Yellow seal—straight from the Royal Family. Aracha. Bancha. Genmaicha. Goishicha. Kukicha. Sakura-cha.

_Sakura-cha._

Chen's fingers pinched up above the container, her metalbending turning the lid into a pair of tweezers. It was interesting, watching Chen metalbend. She had her mother's force, the ability to destroy aircraft rippled in her veins, and yet she contented herself with using metalbending for the most precise of tasks.

Then again, Tenzin could create a vortex larger than Republic City if he so wished. His power lay in choosing otherwise.

The young heiress used her tweezers to gently pluck two pairs of cherry blossoms from the container and set one in each of their cups. She poured the water so smoothly the liquid landed soundlessly in their cup-a move that would have made any of Asami's governesses weep from happiness. Ugh, to be that naturally graceful.

"Thank you for this," Asami said, tipping her head towards the girl. "It looks delicious."

"No thanks necessary. You are the one who called me over for tea, after all."

They sat in silence. Chen ate a couple scallion pancakes, and Asami watched a sakura petal unfurl in her cup. Sakura tea, _good_ sakura tea, was a specialty of the Fire Nation. The petals were hand harvested from the cherry blossom trees and then pickled in a mixture of plum vinegar and salt. The saltier the brine, the sweeter the tea. Or so the saying went.

It was on her third pancake that Chen started to speak. "So why did you invite me to tea? I can't imagine you have this much free time, what with your company to run and all."

Asami's eyes slightly narrowed. She knew what Chen meant, even if her tone didn't convey it. _Can't you leave me in peace? You know I don't want to be here with you right now._ "I just want to get to know you better is all. I find you...interesting."

Chen hmphed under her breath as she sipped her tea. In that moment she was so much like her mother it took Asami's breath away. "Interesting as a person or as a symbol?"

Asami choked on her tea. "I beg your pardon?"

"As a person, it seems. Looks like that answers that." Chen eyed Asami curiously. "You've never heard that question before?"

"Wha-no!"

"You've never thought to ask it?"

The Sato heiress froze. "What are you talking about?"

Chen sighed and placed her teacup on its saucer. "Asami, are you not the scion of the Sato family? Are you not the newest captain of industry?"

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

The young girl steepled her fingers. "Your closest friends are two orphans who lived on the street for years and the Avatar, who grew up an equivalent to tribal princess in the Southern Water Tribe and never learned the concept of money. You don't think you'd have questions, especially after you paid for them to enter the final probending tournament?"

Asami opened and closed her mouth. Well, when she put it that way...

Fuck.

Had she not paid the 30,000 Yuans for their entry into the final probending tournament? Had she not clothed them all in top-quality gear, all of it emblazoned with the logo for Future Industries? Had she not driven and maintained their Satomobile? Fuck, had she not housed Mako and Bolin after Amon had destroyed the stadium?

But they had friended her in spite of that. It took testing out a new Satomobile in a motor race for Korra to respect her. Mako and Bolin had never considered it in the first place. Shit, Mako almost fell out of the booth when she told him who she was exactly. She knew sycophants, had seen them work with her father plenty of times-her friends certainly did not fall under that term.

Asami ran a hand through her hair. "Look, that's not why we're friends. Fighting alongside people...it binds you in ways I can't even begin to explain." She looked down into her drink. "Why else would I have electrocuted my father for them?"

Chen furrowed her brow. "Electrocuted? How? Aren't you a non-bender?"

Asami sighed. She had wanted to relax on this escape from the world, but this conversation was quickly derailing that idea. Reluctantly she pulled out her electric glove from her pocket, where it always was. If protecting the new Air Nomads had taught her anything, it was that she could never be too wary. "I used his invention against him. He never saw it coming."

Within moments Chen threw herself over the counter, sending tea jars flying. She crouched low, the stone tiles now levitating around her hands. Her eyes were wide with fear. "What are you doing with THAT?"

Asami looked at the panicked girl in front of her, and down at her electric glove. It didn't look terrifying, not to her. It was a simple contraption, a gardening glove really. Well, a gardening glove with a functioning electrical current, but nothing compared to the hulking behemoths her father created to do his bidding. The hulking behemoth he drove into her, the one he almost used to-no, no, _no_. Those days were long behind her. "Wha-Chen, it's an electrical glove. It's basically a gardening glove. Have you never seen-?"

"That's not a gardening glove!" Chen barked. "That's a weapon! Why did you bring a weapon to my family estate?" Her eyes narrowed. "What are you planning, Sato?"

"Planning? What do you mean, pla—"

She didn't finish that sentence. Chen vaulted over the counter and tackled the heiress, sending the two of them crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Asami threw a hand out to steady herself and throw Chen in a grapple, but the girl had already flipped herself right way up—and had taken Asami's glove off her hand in the process.

"What the fuck," Asami said, out of breath and flabbergasted. She pushed herself up to a leaning position, her shoulder groaning with the weight. Yeah, that was definitely bruised. "Why would you _do_ that?"

"You brought a weapon—that weapon—onto my family estate without declaring it. That's considered an act of war down here."

"An act of—" she gazed incredulously at Chen. "It's not a weapon! I only use it in self-defense!"

"That weapon is for _torture!_ " Chen shrieked, waving the glove in the air. "Do you know what this is used for? Do you know how it was used? Do you know about the lightning-shaped scars it leaves on people's skin from the contact? Do you even care?"

Asami bit her cheek to hold back a wince. She should have known, having been electrocuted herself, about the scars. Moreso, she should have realized that she wasn't the only one with them either. "Do-I saw the Lieutenant electrocute my friends right in front of me! He electrocuted _me! AND_ I helped free the police officers he was keeping hostage! What did you do, read the newspaper?"

"Read the newspaper? Like I'm some pampered princess musing over the misfortunes of her kingdom?"

_Your words, not mine,_ Asami thought.

"Of course not. I asked him myself."

Asami was about to yell when the weight of Chen's answer hit her fully. "You ASKED the Lieutenant? As in, the right hand man of Amon? How did _that_ happen?"

Chen crossed her arms and looked away. Asami saw a small bruise blooming across her hand. "You weren't the only one looking for Mama after she disappeared."

Asami's heart dropped into her stomach. She could still taste the disbelief that Tenzin and his family had been captured, could still feel the panic and fear seizing her body as she heard that Lin had disappeared, nowhere to be found. While the others had been more immediately preoccupied with the Air Family, she had stayed behind with Saikhan and his men, helping them search for Lin in whatever way she could. She had been on a search boat helping lead the search on Air Temple Island. She still remembered the taste of salt on her lips, and not knowing if it was from the sea or her tears.

She had remembered a group of young cadets nearly frantic in their panic to find Lin. Had Chen been among them? Yes, she must have been, because there was the cry of discovery when they found an Equalist man, half-drowned from the waves in the bay…

Oh. _Oh._

"They pulled up a man half-drowned from the bay," Asami said slowly, weighing every word. "He wore the uniform of a high-level Equalist. And I remember, when they sped towards shore, Saikhan said over the radio that they have a code-"

"Grey," Chen interjected, crossing her arms tighter. "They called it a Code Dark Grey. A Code Grey means they're bringing in someone who actively and intentionally hurt a high-ranking member of the force."

"What does Dark Grey mean?"

"It means there's already at least one person set for the interrogation. That person is usually the fallen officer's partner."

An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of Asami's stomach. "Usually?"

"Saikhan was the official investigator, of course. But I had the first shot. So of course I had some...questions."

Asami examined the teen in front of her. Chen visibly cringed whenever she had to fight offense in conditioning, to say nothing of grappling and submission locks. Why did she have the feeling she wasn't asking him for his favorite noodle bars?

"Your questions...weren't just questions, were they?"

Chen smiled icily. "Did they need to be?"

Did she….Did she just confess to torturing the Lieutenant after the disappearance of her mother?

No, confess isn't the right word. That implied guilt, and she clearly didn't regret what she had done. No, Chen just _confirmed_ what had been unspoken all along. She had been the one to start breaking the Lieutenant, and Saikhan had condoned it.

Sweet Raava, what was she capable of?

Her train of thought was broken by the thudding of heavy footsteps. She looked up to find Lin and Bao in the doorway peering down at her. Lin leaned an arm against the doorway, and Bao crossed his arms, his mouth downturned.

"See, Baba?" Lin drawled, motioning to the two girls with her head. "I told you there weren't any attackers in our kitchen."

"I did know that, sweetheart," Bao said, adjusting his arms. Asami noted the warmth in his voice with a pang in her chest. "But - look at the floor!"

Asami did a double take. She had heard the sound of things falling of course, but hadn't realized that in their tumble she and Chen had sent the cherry blossom mochi and scallion pancakes crashing to the floor. Canisters of tea had rolled into odd corners, peeking out from under counters as if they were shy. The only thing that hadn't fallen, ironically enough, was the tea set. Lin took notice of that fact as well.

"Yes, Baba, but look at the tea set. There's not a single chip. Sweet Raava, that thing will never be destroyed."

"Consider it yet another reminder of your grandmother's continued influence on the family," Bao drawled. He looked over at Asami and Chen. "Do you two need help putting everything back?"

Asami shook her head no as Chen spoke up. "No, Grandbaba, we'll get it all sorted out."

The kindly gentleman nodded and turned to leave, but not before helping Asami off the ground and ruffling Chen's hair on the way out the door. The two girls looked at each other and then down at the floor. The beautiful slate flooring, which must have been original flooring in the house, was all askew.

"You take the tea canisters and food, I'll take the floor," Chen said, already beginning to shift the stones back to their original pattern. Asami threw away the food and hunted down the canisters, picking them up and placing them on the counter. "Ah, to be an airbender. I'd just blow all the canisters out of their hiding places. Either that, or I'd make a mess out of your mother's kitchen."

Chen snorted, then paused. "Wait-do you wish you were a bender?"

Asami pushed back some of her hair as she placed the last containers on the counter for Chen to put away. "Honestly? I never thought about airbending for myself. I'd been so preoccupied with finding and protecting the new airbenders that I never thought about it for me."

"And now what do you think?"

Asami cocked her head to the side. "I...I don't know. I'm so used to the connection I have with my elements, I don't know what it would be like to have a connection to another, much less one I can bend."

"Your own connection with the elements?" Chen clasped her hands, her eyes curiously regarding Asami.

Asami's gaze hardened. "What, you didn't think that it was possible for nonbenders to have a connection with their nations' elements?"

"Wha-no!" Chen exclaimed, waving her hands for emphasis. "I just-I'm not _saying_ that, I just-it's a different type of connection, you know? It's not-"

"Boiling tea by holding a cup or throwing rocks around, I know," Asami responded, leaning against the countertop. "But it's there, I guarantee you. Riddle me this, who has the best barbeque pork in Republic City?"

"It's Chau's, everyone knows that," Chen said, rolling her eyes goodnaturedly. Okay, this was good. This was good! Chen was beginning to open up! "I always get their pork buns on Friday after school."

"Right? It's so good! But it's not a coincidence, Chen, that all of their chefs are nonbenders with Fire Nation ancestry. I mean, don't get me wrong, Mako's great, but his food-"

"Is barely edible," Chen said, suppressing a giggle. Then her eyes widened with dawning realization. "Because he's fighting against the fire to cook! Oh, that makes so much _sense!_ How can he cook that well if he's spending so much time just fighting the instinct to bend?"

Asami opened her palm in agreement. "Exactly. He's trying to both not bend the flame _and_ not burn the food….sometimes he's successful. Other times, not so much."

Chen's lips upturned into a radiant smile. Sweet Raava, she was making progress with the girl. There was hope after all. Her head turned slightly to the side. "Asami?"

"Yeah?" She moved to get more food out for them from the fridge. At this point, they wouldn't be hungry for dinner, but in all fairness they did knock their snacks over.

"What do your elements feel like to you?"

She stopped in front of the fridge and turned to face the girl. "What do you mean?"

"What I ask. What does fire feel like to you if you're part Fire Nation and can't bend it? What does earth feel like, or metal?"

Asami opened the fridge, grabbed the nearest package of cherry blossom mochi, and sat it on the counter between them. She grabbed a piece and toyed with it as she thought. "It feels natural to me, I guess," she said after a moment. "It's something I can manipulate, like my hair as an example."

Chen, munching on her mochi piece, raised an eyebrow. "Like hair?"

"Yeah." She popped her mochi in her mouth before she continued speaking. "I could leave it down like I have it now, or I could pull it up into a half-wolftail. I could braid it so it's wavy, or I could set my hair in rollers when it's wet for curly hair. My hair won't react of its own accord, because it is just _there_."

Chen nodded slowly, intrigued. "You don't feel a pushback."

"Exactly. And I know my hair best-I know how much product I need in it to achieve a specific look, the type of hairstyle that's best to keep it out of my face. So I can manipulate it whatever way I want without having to take into account any possible reactions. It's not like I'm ever going to take my hair out of a braid and have it stick straight. I know what will happen. And because of that, I can explore."

"That is so _fascinating._ So you don't feel a hum, or run warm constantly, or anything like a regular bender would?"

"Nope. Why would I feel a hum?"

"That's not a normal thing?"

Asami shook her head. "That's definitely an earthbender thing. What does it feel like to _feel_ the earth?"

Chen popped a piece of mochi in her mouth. "The world is never silent. Like, ever. It's a steady hum in the background all the time."

"Like office noise?"

"Eh. Kind of, but not quite. Office noise, it's-it's predictable. Predictable is the best way I can describe it."

The Sato scion raised an eyebrow. "Predictable?"

Chen's lips quirked upward into a smile. "No, what I mean is that office noise isn't so _alive._ And sure, you're connected by an office, but you're not _connected_ connected. Not the way that earthbending does it. For example, most people think that seismic sensing is just a cool trick that my grandmother invented to see the world, and don't get me wrong it is. But it's also _more_ than that. It's another-it's another _sense_ , really. Most people are born with only five senses. Earthbenders are born with six." She perched her head on her hands, her smile icy. "Have you ever imagined having your ears cut off?"

Asami choked back her last piece of mochi. So much for things going well. "Wha-no? Why would I _ever_ imagine that?" She chugged the last of her cold tea when a thought struck her. "Chen, are you threatening me?"

The teen examined her nails. "No. But my mother had to imagine it. In fact, she had to _live_ with it after Amon took her seismic sense."

Asami could feel her eye twitching. But she couldn't show weakness, not in front of Chen. Her kindness belied her sharpness-a single quip could send anyone scattering, no doubt. She took a deep breath.

She was better than this pettiness. She was? She was!

She was _not._

"But I'm sure she didn't lose her spirituality," Asami said, her words dripping with condescending tones. "After all, even we nonbenders have that spiritual connection. Take Pema, for example."

She'd be lying if she didn't relish the scowl cutting Chen's face.

"I mean, she's had spiritual visions since she was a kid! It's what prompted her to become an Air Acolyte, really. But you want to know what the tipping point was? She saw a vision of herself married to a bald airbending master with a goatee, their four children with them. And what do you know, Chen? Didn't _that_ vision come true?"

Chen's face flushed red, and she clenched her fists so tightly they turned white. She took a deep breath, and another, and anoth-

"Your father sexually harassed my mother!"

Asami's mouth dropped. "I beg your pardon?!"

Chen smiled as if she were baring fangs. "Oh, you didn't know? Your sweet little criminal monster of a father used to be a suitor of my mother's. And by suitor, I mean he harassed her _constantly_. But let's let bygones be bygones, hm? It's not like he's ever going to see outside of a jail cell ever again. I'm sure you had your own visions of that, hm? After all, even nonbenders have their _spirituality_."

Asami brought her palms together. She noticed belatedly that they were shaking. "Don't you ever. EVER. Talk about my father again."

Chen tied up her hair, coldly regarding the heiress before her. "Don't you ever. EVER. Give me orders. _Especially_ not here."

And then the punches came.


	2. Chapter 2

“That was so much fun! Mako, we  _ have  _ to do this again!”

“Yeah? Well, I’m glad you think so, considering I can’t feel my arms.”

Since it was the chefs’ days off, Lin had tasked them both with getting groceries and snacks for the local marketplace. And it was an actual marketplace--as in, housed in a building specifically made for the stalls, and not the temporary things housed under bridges and in parks that he and Bo liked to frequent. It was so--so--

_ Old. _

Everyone knew about Gaoling, even street kids. He and Bolin had grown up listening to the older kids talk about the Southern Gem, and how when they had enough money they’d buy a one-way ticket to the place where metalbending started, where beds were plenty, food was hot, and everything was at your fingertips. And they had been right about that. 

They just happened to leave out that the city was  _ ancient.  _ As in, money came minted in heavy iron coins and not on paper. As in, he had to manually haul water from the stream and heat it up himself if he wanted a hot bath. As in, he couldn’t pick up extra shifts at the power plant, because there was no power to be had.

He had seen a little bit of Asami die when Chen told her there was no electrical grid in the entire province. She hadn’t been the same since. Mako couldn’t help but empathize.

“But Mako, we  _ had  _ to buy all of this stuff! There’s fresh noodles, and fresh beef, and fresh--”

“Well, we did just come from a market, Bo. That’s generally what they sell.”

“You know what I mean! We can’t get all of this stuff in Republic City, not in one place! And not with this fancy money either! I mean, coins? I mean, who even  _ uses  _ these anymore? Hey, Mako, do you think Lin would let me keep one as a souvenir?”

Mako rolled his eyes. “We just bought a ton of rock candy from Omashu because you needed a souvenir. It’s not even from Gaoling! And besides, that’s the Chief’s money. We’re giving every single bit of change back, do you understand?”

Bo petulantly shouldered open the estate’s gate. “I would ask her if I could take one. I wouldn’t be stealing.”

If he had had the hand to spare, he would have used it to massage his temples. Instead, he took a deep breath as he walked through the gate. “We can always ask, okay Bo? We’ll see what she says after that.”

Bolin, mollified, shouldered closed the gate and followed after Mako as they walked through the estate. The Sato estate had been grand, all polished marble floors and soaring ceilings. Lin’s, on the other hand, wasn’t really an estate as much as it was a world unto itself. As they passed by the flower gardens and the pond, Mako felt like he was intruding. This world, so peaceful, so removed from Republic City--this wasn’t him. He found it hard to believe it was Lin’s too.

He gently kicked at the kitchen door of the main house, wincing at the idea of leaving scuff marks from his boots on the wood. He leaned against the wall and waited, and motioned to Bolin with his head to do the same. The kitchen was far removed from the rest of the main house, it would be ages before--

“You could have just used the front door, boys.”

Mako whirled around, the groceries lurching in his arms. He caught them just in time to see Bao helping Bo with his bags and watching him with concern. “You also could have sent for me or the girls. You shouldn’t have had to carry all of these groceries by yourselves! And bringing them to the farthest door possible, no less.”

“It was our pleasure, Lieutenant Bao,” Mako said, shrugging off any help from the man and unceremoniously plunking the heavy bags down on the counter. “We were more than happy to do the grocery run, sir.”

Bao rolled his eyes in exasperation, though the firebender could tell it was also with humor. “I don’t know how many times I need to tell you, Mako. You can just call me Bao. You could also call me Grandbaba, but I understand that you’re not ready for that, so yeah, Bao.” His eyes twinkled ever so slightly. “You don’t hear me calling you Detective Mako now, do you?”

Mako chuckled. Bao was the type of person he had always hoped to find in his life--no-nonsense, but  _ warm.  _ He was glad that he had met him, this man who had been so influential for both Lin and the force. “No, sir.”

“Well, then? Come on, let’s put all these groceries away. You two got quite a haul! I’m sure the girls will be thrilled.” 

Mako nodded, the corner of his mouth turned upward. Together the three of them made quick work of the groceries, putting away the meats, fruits, and vegetables. “Well, we can’t make dinner out of this now, can we?” Bao asked, holding up a rather large chunk of rock candy.

Bo’s eyes widened, and he grabbed the chunk from the man’s open hands. “Sorry, that wasn’t supposed to go in the dinner pile!”

He raised an eyebrow. “You have a snack pile?”

“Whaaaa-do you have a snack pile too, sir?”

Bao couldn’t help but chuckle. “Of course I do! I can’t have the cooks tattling on me every time I enter the kitchen for a snack. Besides, you should eat more. You’re a growing boy, aren’t you?”

Bo nodded. “Yes sir!”

“That’s what I thought. Now go put it away, before anyone else finds it.”

Bo scampered off, leaving Mako standing awkwardly in the middle of the small walkway between the kitchen island and the counter. Bao cocked his head. “You can take a seat, you know. Touching anything in this kitchen isn’t going to burn you.”

Mako shifted in place, but didn’t move. “This doesn’t feel like my place to relax, sir.”

Bao sighed. “You don’t need to be on watch, Mako. Lin invited you here so you could take a vacation--have you heard of those? I know they’re not exactly common in the force, but they do exist.”

The firebender cracked a smile. “I’m a friend of the Avatar, sir. Vacations are out of the question.”

Bao smirked. “Oh, they most definitely are.”

Bao came bounding back into the kitchen. “Alright, I hid away my rock candy in my snack pile and _ oooh, what’s that _ ?”

Mako turned to see Bo pointing at some sort of tea set. It looked fancy, like that special kind of porcelain that Asami liked. There were golden vines crawling on it too, rendered out of gold. It seemed like the exact thing Lin, who drank her coffee out of the nearest free mug, would despise.

“Oh, it’s so pretty,” Bo breathed, getting closer to it. His hand reached out of its own will to pick the cup up--

“Bo, no, leave that there!” Mako exclaimed, reaching a hand out.

\--and down the cup fell, smashing into a million pieces. 

Bo’s eyes bulged, Bao said nothing, and Mako pulled his face. Lin was going to kill them.

“What was that?"

The trio whipped around to find Lin in the doorway, her hands on her hips.

“N-nothing!” Bo stammered. “Nothing to see here! Nothing at all!”

Lin raised an eyebrow. “You know I can read heartbeats, right?”

Bo’s face fell, and Mako stepped forward. “It was my fault, Lin. I should have--”

“I reiterate my point, Mako. I can read heartbeats.” She shifted into a slightly more relaxed stance. “What happened? Bao?”

The boys sighed and parted to reveal the fallen teacup.

Lin’s face was indecipherable as her eyes flicked over each broken piece. After a few tense minutes, she broke into a smile. 

“Thank Raava, it finally happened. I was beginning to think that thing could never be destroyed.”

Bo’s face contorted into confusion. “Huh? I’m not in trouble?”

“Are you kidding? You’re actually doing me a favor. I’ve hated that thing ever since my grandmother bought it for me as a ‘training tea set’ to prepare me for my future husband.” Lin rolled her eyes. “Yet another way my grandmother was so desperate to mold me into a ‘respectable’ young lady.”

“You did become one, Lin.” Bao’s eyes twinkled. “Your grandmother just had the wrong idea about what made a woman ‘respectable.’”

“Maybe so.” She smirked. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Mako, you take the other cup. Baba, you and I will get the saucers.”

“Lin?” Bao questioned as he passed out the remaining pieces in the tea set.

She smashed the saucer, pieces flying everywhere. Mako and Bolin stared at her, mouths agape. She shrugged. “Can’t be having tea out of an incomplete tea set now, can we?”

Mako and Bao looked at each other, shrugged, and did the same. Lin’s laughter rumbled through the space as she saw fine bits of porcelain dust drift through the air. “Oh thank Raava,” she said, throwing her head back. “Thank Raava.”

Bao motioned to Bolin with his head. The two readied themselves to bend away the pieces when Lin lifted a hand to stop them. “No. Please, allow me.” She dropped her foot to the ground and began to lift a hand when she paused. “What on earth?”


	3. Chapter 3

Asami knew she shouldn't have baited Chen.

The girl launched herself at Asami and punched her in the face. Having been shocked, the force of the punch had knocked her to the floor. She reached up to feel, but Chen was already straddling her as she readied another blow.

 _Oh FUCK no!_ Asami thought, and with a grunt rolled herself over, flipping them both so that she was on top. Just as she was readying a pin, Chen snarled and used Asami's momentum to flip herself back on top.

Time slowed down, or it sped up, but either way Asami lost track of how many times she flipped-or got flipped over-by Chen. She paused for a moment to catch her breath when Chen, who at this point was on top of her, was moving in to punch her again. Asami raised her hands to catch Chen's, and then used the force against Chen by quickly yanking one of her arms back.

Chen gasped in pain, wrenched her other hand free from Asami's grasp, and brought it down to punch the older girl. Without thinking, Asami caught the girl's punch with her palm. With a simper Chen wrenched Asami's arm to the side.

Fire bloomed in her shoulder, and she rolled to the side. Chen slid off her. Asami kicked out to both steady herself and catch Chen. She was expecting soft when she hit bone. Her legs sailed through the air even still, and it gave Asami the traction to right herself up. In her periphery she saw Chen scramble to sit up.

Asami stood up.

Chen stood up.

And then they charged.

Asami cuffed Chen in the shoulder, knocking the girl off course. She intended to use the momentum to further push Chen back, but Chen flipped it on Asami and knocked them both to the floor. Once again, Asami was on the floor and Chen was on top.

Asami kicked her legs up and threw Chen off her. Just before she was going to get up, Chen jumped back on her stomach. The teen's eyes widened as she struggled to breathe.

Chen gave no quarter. She started punching Asami's face, and as she got her breath back she could already feel the beginnings of a black eye forming. With a start Asami reached for Chen's hair and pulled it. This gave Asami enough power to flip herself, with Chen on bottom and herself on top.

In retribution, Chen bit Asami's hand. _Hard._ Asami cried out and let go of her hair. Chen punched Asami in her already-injured shoulder, and the teen grabbed one of the girl's long sleeves and yanked on it. The sound of tearing fabric could be heard.

Chen looked down at her mangled sleeve, then at Asami. With a snarl she began to fight harder, and Asami flipped her on her back so hard she knocked the wind out of her. Chen kicked Asami's arms off of her so she could kneel, but in a second Asami had her pinned back down on the ground. Tasting the end, Asami had her fist raised when she heard a singular sound:

"CHEN!"

Both girls looked up to see Lin fly into the room, eyes blazing with fury. Bao, Mako, and Bolin were following close behind her. She stalked over and threw Asami off Chen.

"Get _off!_ Chen, are you-"

Chen slowly stood up and dusted herself off, though her dress was completely torn up. One sleeve was beginning to detach from the rest of the dress, Bao noticed with a wince. "I'm fine, Mama," she said tersely, not looking her mother in the eyes.

Lin spun to face Asami, who had pulled herself up into a kneeling position. "Sato. Get _up._ "

The teen seemed dazed. Her lip was busted, and she bore a black eye. Mako and Bolin looked at each other worriedly. Asami couldn't control elements, but they knew bending shock when they saw it. When she didn't respond, Lin picked Asami up by the collar, and shoved her against a wall. "I take you into my _home_. I _trust_ you. I _love_ you. And-And-And this is what you do?! Huh?! Is THIS WHAT YOU DO?!"

"Lin, please-" Mako interjected.

"And _you!_ What have you been doing, Mako? I trusted you to keep an eye out on things! What have you been doing that is so important that you missed a damn _brawl?_ "

"Lin, sweetheart, _please_ ," Bao pleaded, his hands on Chen's shoulders. Chen watched, her eyes wide.

"AND I TRUSTED YOU, ASAMI!" Lin roared, shoving the teen even higher up against the wall. "I TRUSTED YOU WITH CHEN!"

"No, don't!" Bolin cried out. "Don't kill Asami! _Please!_ "

Lin, who had been baring her teeth towards Asami, stopped. She looked at Bo, whose hands were clapped over his mouth, and then at Asami, whose pupils were dilated in fear. _Oh Raava, what was she_ doing? She tried to place the teen down gently, but Asami still landed on the ground with a sickening _thud_. "Go…" she muttered, backing away from Asami. "Go to the healing hut."

"Mama…"

Lin turned to see Chen, shoulders drooping, limp towards her. Lin surveyed the aftermath: a dress so torn she wasn't sure the seamstress could salvage it, a tight shoulder, and legs that would most certainly swell overnight if she wasn't attended to by the healers.

Chen, eyes downcast, reached out for a hug. Lin softened ever so slightly and returned it, then scooped her up into her arms. For being 13 and an earthbender, she was surprisingly light. It was probably the Air Nomad in her, Lin noted with a pang in her chest. She turned back to the others. "Mako, Bolin, get Asami. Baba, walk with me."

Bao nodded and joined in step with Lin. Mako and Bo looked at each other, and then down at Asami. "Here, I'll carry you," Bo said, reaching for Asami. Upon trying to lift her, she screamed in agony. Mako's eyes widened, and he crouched next to her.

"Asami? Asami, are you okay?"

Tears were now visibly streaming down her face. Mako and Bo tried their best to hide their alarm, though the former did so much better than the latter. "My shoulder," she said tightly, trying not to move as she wiped the tears from her face with one arm. "It hurts so badly. I think it's dislocated."

Mako caught Bao's worried gaze and frowned. He wouldn't be surprised if that was the case based on her reaction. He could also reset it, but goodness knows what other injuries she had. If anything, he'd make it worse. He nodded to Bo, who gently picked her up from the other side. "You're going to be okay, Asami. Everything is going to be okay."

She gulped a deep breath and nodded. Mako hesitantly placed a hand on her head, and when she didn't flinch he awkwardly patted her hair as they walked. Their relationship was...complicated. All relationships were, but theirs was a special type of difficult. They were friends...then they dated...then they didn't...then they did again…

Point being, they're pretty tangled up in each other's lives. Whatever they were now, he wanted to keep it that way.

Bao looked back at the concerned brothers and then to Lin. Chen, worn out from the events of the day, was half-out of it. "Lin, what in the flameo happened here? I've never seen her so-"

"Much like me?"

Where Bao normally would have chuckled, he sighed instead and brushed a stray hair off of Chen's forehead. "You know what I mean, Lin. She hates doing offensive moves in training! And now she's full-out _brawling_ with a girl nearly twice her size?"

Lin furtively stole a glance at the two worried brothers and injured teenager and shook her head. What _had_ happened here? This was so unlike….well, both of them. Asami could throw a mean right hook, but that's certainly not how she approached every problem. Now Korra, on the other hand…

Was it Korra they were fighting over? Spirits knew they both missed her in their own ways. And Asami's arrival had been rough for Chen-probably another reminder of the teen she missed so much. "Who knows, Baba. I'm more worried about what the healers are going to say-for both of them."

Bao nodded grimly and opened the door to the healing hut. Healing hut was, in his opinion, a highly reductive way to phrase what it really was: the Beifong private hospital. With state-of-the-art equipment and top healers, it was the best healthcare you'd get outside of either Kya or Katara. "Ketsana, Keodara," he called out. "We need help!"

Immediately the two women stepped into view. Ketsana had grey hair pulled up in a wolftail and dressed in the Gaoling style while incorporating Water Tribe colors. Her daughter, Keodara, was dressed in an informal ao dai and had long black hair braided down her back. Both women had the same sea-green eyes, a mark of their mixed Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe heritage. They were just two of the many women in their lineage who had proudly served the Beifongs. "Bao, what's happened?" Ketsana asked.

Bao stepped aside to reveal Lin, the boys, and their barely conscious charges. Keodara gasped. Ketsana looked both girls up and down, calculating. For the older girl, there would need to be healing sessions for her black eye and cut lip. She was cradling her arm-most likely a dislocation in the shoulder. That would need to be popped back into place by Keodara. For Chen, based on the tears in her dress there would need to be special attention paid to her legs and shoulder. Multiple bruises were almost guaranteed for both. So would tender spines. It'd be a miracle if there wasn't a cracked rib. The only way to know for certain, of course, was to have them disrobe and conduct a physical examination before their healing pool session. Well, the initial session. There would need to be multiple. "Bring them to the examination room. Keodara, take Asami. Bao, boys, stay here."

"No," Mako said. "I want to be there with Asami."

"Yeah, me too," Bo chimed.

Keodara clasped her hands. "It's not a _you_ thing, boys, it's a-"

"We're conducting a physical exam, and in order to see their injuries we need to disrobe them." Ketsana raised an eyebrow. "Now do you understand?"

Bo and Mako nodded vigorously, cheeks reddening. "Yes, ma'am!" They were _NOT_ going to violate Asami's privacy, not ever, not like that, nope!

Bao inclined his head in acknowledgement. He had been here many times before with Lin as a child and as a young woman. This wasn't anything new to him.

"Could we at least carry Asami into the examination room?" Bolin asked. "Mako and I would leave right after!"

Keodara looked back at her mother, who nodded. "Yes, of course. Please, follow me."

The younger healer led the group through hallways, which were filled with all sorts of sick bays and medical equipment primed and ready for use. Mako caught a peek of an open space, which seemed to house some medicinal healing pools. He managed to hide his look of shock. Lin had a _hospital_ at her disposal? And yet she complained whenever she had to get seen by a healer?

Well, maybe it was because of this that she didn't like being fussed over by the medics. Hard to go from private healing sessions on your own estate to battleground stitches done with only a shot of whiskey to numb them.

"Please, lie your friend down in here," Keodara said, gesturing to an open door. Mako inclined his head in acknowledgement and walked through. The room was large, with stone floors, plastered walls, and windows opening out into a courtyard of its own. There was a sink with an attached workspace as well-this was truly a room built with healers in mind. helped Bo gently place a barely conscious Asami on a soft bed outfitted with clean bamboo sheets. The firebender noticed another bed in the room, which was similarly outfitted.

"Keodara, do you want Chen in here too?" Lin asked, peeking her head in the open doorway.

"Yes, please," the healer said, gesturing to the space. Mako shifted to let Lin in as she rushed to place an unconscious Chen on the bed. His eyes watched as she gently fanned out the girl's long black hair, and how she took a shaky breath as she settled into a chair equally between the two beds.

"Boys, please tell Ketsana it's time to begin healing," Lin said, not taking her eyes off the girls. "And you, Mako, you'll need to help her set everything up. She will tell you no." Her eyes briefly flickered to the boy in the doorway, his thin frame uncomfortably close to gaunt. He needed to eat-she'd have the chefs work on making him more food. She averted her gaze. "Ignore that. She's just stubborn."

He nodded. "Yes, Chief."

"Good. You're dismissed."

Mako nodded, slightly bowing to Lin before turning on his heel and walking outside, Bolin quickly following.

"They're going to be okay, right?" Bolin asked, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "Right?"

Mako took a deep breath as he looked into Bo's wide eyes, those same wide eyes that had asked him about their parents all those years ago. Just as he had back then, he gave his brother a comforting nudge. "Everything's going to be fine, Bo. Just go stay with Bao while I get Ketsana, okay? I won't take too long."

Bo nodded as they reached the lobby where Bao was sitting, his hands tightly clasped. He stood up upon seeing the brothers. "How are they?"

"They're still the same as they were, sir, Keodara is about to start the examination. Speaking of examinations, where can I find-"

"Ketsana? Take a left, then a right, then take that all the way down the hall," Bao finished. "Lin asked you to help her, didn't she? Good. Maybe she'll actually listen to you for a change." He motioned for Bo to join him. "Go, son."

He nodded stiffly, his feet taking him to his destination. This private hospital seemed to have multiple wings, with half on one side of the healing pools and half on the other. _Probably one for Keodara and one for Ketsana,_ Mako surmised. As he got closer, he could hear a loud clanging and a stream of words he couldn't recognize-it sounded like Korra's Water Tribe, but not quite. He saw a door slightly ajar, and shouldered it open to find an entire apothecary. The walls were lined with shelves lined from floor to ceiling with labeled jars of herbs, and there was a large wooden worktable with a mortar and pestle centered amongst a variety of scattered herbs. Ketsana was at a counter in the back of the room, grumbling as she tried to work with large metal canisters.

He cleared his throat. "Healer Ketsana, ma'am?"

She stopped her work and sighed, not even bothering to turn around. "Lin sent you over here, didn't she? Please tell her I'm fine, that I just need to get the fires started and then I'll be on my way."

Mako raised an eyebrow. "Fire?"

Ketsana turned around, her arms crossed. "Lin hasn't told you much about me and my daughter, has she? We're healers who specialize in using infused waters-like teas, but more potent. They have to steep a bit before they can achieve maximum usability, which is why I put them in these portable canisters. They come with a space for fire on the bottom, so the waters can boil as we transport them from place to place. All jolly fine and good, except the kindling isn't lighting up like I need it to." She took a moment to scrutinize him closely. He was tall and thin, a little too thin for her liking. For a teenager she would ascribe it to a growth spurt, but Lin had called him one of her detectives, which meant that he was most likely fully grown. No, no, this spoke to a childhood of hunger and deprivation that had stayed behind, even if his situation had changed. She would need to talk to the chefs, see if they could give him something high in calories yet nutritious. His bright amber eyes regarded her cautiously.

His eyes. Amber. She should have known.

She quickly uncrossed her arms and placed them on her hips. "You wouldn't happen to be a firebender, would you?"

He drew fire into his palm, the orange fire licking the air around it. "Funny you should ask."

The healer chuckled under her breath. "The one time I don't deny Lin's help is the one time she comes through with it. Come, I need you to light the kindling underneath so that the herbs can steep."

Mako nodded, extinguished the flame, and weaved his way through the room to find the canisters unassembled. They were...odd-looking. There were two parts: a bottom part filled with moss, twigs, and other types of tinder, and a cylindrical part filled with water. The lids lay to the side, a metal net filled with different types of herbs screwed to the bottom of it. It looked like that thing Asami used for her tea, but bigger.

"Come on, now," Ketsana said, jarring him back to reality. "Let's not keep Lin waiting. Unless that fire was a party trick?"

Mako chuckled. She reminded him of Kya, almost, but not as relaxed. Then again, no one was as relaxed as Kya, not even Tenzin. He quickly drew fire into his palm and heated it up, watching as it went from red to orange to yellow to near-white. He dropped it into the kindling of the first canister, watching with satisfaction as it began to eat the kindling. Over Ketsana's protestations, he completely assembled the canister before moving onto the second one and proceeding to do the same. "Shall we take these to the room?"

Ketsana gestured to the open door. "After you."

He nodded and took both canisters in his hands. As to be expected, they were _heavy._ Still, he kept a stiff upper lip as he crossed through the halls to find the room Asami and Chen had been placed in. Lin had her head in her hands as Keodara was busy readying the girls for their examination. Ketsana cleared her throat, less as a cue to stop and more of an alert to Mako's presence. The younger healer turned around, and her eyes widened upon seeing Mako carrying the canisters. "You can carry those? My goodness, I hope you can still feel your arms!" She exclaimed as she and Ketsana took them from him and placed them on the work table.

His eyes darted towards Asami, her hair tied away from her face, which was blooming with bruises. On her hand were marks-human teeth marks. How had he not seen that before? "Eh, I can feel enough," he said, shaking the tension from his arms. Hopefully the women hadn't noticed him staring. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"No, you've done more than enough," Ketsana replied, uncovering the canisters, steam seeping out. "Go and stay with Bao and that other, more talkative boy. We will come get you if we need you."

Mako smiled wryly. Of course Ketsana wouldn't have learned Bo's name. "Yes ma'am." He gave a small salute, left the room, and found Bao and Bo waiting where he had left them.

"Is everything going okay?" Bo asked, eyes wide with anxiety. "I saw you carrying those big canisters. They're really hurt, aren't they?"

"They don't look good," he admitted, looking down at the floor to avoid Bao's eyes. "I think we're going to be here for a while."


	4. Chapter 4

Ketsana, incidentally, thought the same thing. “Lin, you might want to steel yourself,” Ketsana said, beginning to undo Chen’s dress. By this point, Chen had fallen into a deep sleep after the events of the day. She was prone in her sleep, her chest falling and rising slightly. “This isn’t going to be pretty.”   
  
“Ketsana, you know I’m tougher than that,” Lin said, lifting her head from her hands and helping the healer. Chen may be a deep sleeper, but she needed to be gentle with her. Goodness knew what injuries that dress was hiding. 

“I know you are.” She lifted the dress completely from the girl, leaving her only in her bindings. Lin cried out and immediately clapped her hands over her mouth, tears pooling in her eyes.

“I mean for her.”

Chen’s ribcage was mottled with bruises. There were bruises on her back too, welts more like, and legs swollen enough to make walking painful. Ketsana gently folded Chen forward to reveal bruises all down her back--she would be surprised if her tailbone wasn’t fractured. There was a large bruise in the middle of her thigh--and it was in the shape of a boot print. “I’m going to kill that girl for what she did to Chen, Ketsana,” Lin seethed. “Don’t intervene.”

“I wouldn’t think her blameless,” Keodara said, gesturing to Lin to come over with her head. “This is not good.”

Lin huffed and walked over, only to stop dead in her tracks. Asami….her injuries were  _ worse.  _ So many bruises she could barely see her skin color, a blatantly dislocated shoulder, a black eye, and a  _ bite mark?!  _ Even though Asami was unconscious, she was still moaning from the pain. She wasn’t sure which emotion was more dominant, the horror that her daughter caused this, or pride that her daughter caused this. Beifongs always gave better than they got.

“What do you need from me?” Lin said, swallowing her emotion. “Do you need me here?”

“Need is a relative term, Lin,” Ketsana said, opening the canisters Mako had brought into the room. She had never used the title “Lady” in front of her name. Frankly, she never really used “Chief.” Not because, as outsiders would imagine, she held that deference for Toph only. No, it was because she knew Lin disliked people using them here in Gaoling. That, and she had known Lin her entire life. Lin embodied her element more than anyone she knew, even her daughter. She had no taste for ornamentation or artificiality, and that Ketsana could appreciate. “Do we need you to set bones or make poultices or do any of the things that come with healing? Of course not. But we also know that you’ll go insane if you wait outside with the boys. You can stay here, Lin. You always can.”

Lin nodded her thanks to Ketsana, who clasped her on the shoulder as the police chief took a seat. Ketsana and her daughter each pulled water from their canisters and began healing their respective charges. As the hum of healing water surrounded Lin’s ears, she thought back to happier times. To childhoods spent on Ember Island with Izumi, the two of them laughing as Lin built sandcastles. To, decades later, taking Chen with her as she visited Izumi, the little girl’s peals of laughter carrying over the sand.

To Chen herself.

Chen was a blessing she never expected she would receive. She had been with Tenzin for so long, had never carried a child to term--how ironic that the one time she was able to was  _ after  _ he had left. And Chen was--she was everything she had ever dreamed about. She had never been one for motherhood, but the minute Ketsana had placed Chen in her arms everything had changed. Those bright green eyes, that  _ smile _ \--what Lin wouldn’t do for Chen.

What she wouldn’t do for the rest of the kids, really. Korra might be the biggest pain in her ass, but she wished it had been  _ her  _ that had been infected with mercury, not that vibrant teenager who crash-landed into her city. That vibrant teenager who was a magnet, attracting three of the city’s best and brightest to her side. Mako, the boy who was in all ways save for familial hers; Bo, the incorrigible chatterbox who knew how to find the positives in everything; and Asami Sato, the brilliant engineer who always managed to save the day, or at least the four of them from spending a night in one of her jail cells. They had brought her out of her precinct, which she had grumbled about, of course, but she’d travel to the ends of the world and back for them.

Fuck, she already had. That’s what she got for being their chaperone on their airbender renaissance trip. But while there had been so much pain, there had been so much good too. She got to see Jinora certified as a master airbender. She got to see Kya.

_ She got to see Kya. _

Where should she even start with Kya? Fuck, where  _ could  _ she even start with Kya? She couldn’t remember a time without her, because there never  _ had  _ been a time without her. She was in every photo she had of her childhood--sometimes in the background, sometimes front and center, and always next to her. Yet for as present as Kya had been in her life, Lin had never paid her as much importance as she should have. For so much of her life, it had always been Tenzin as her priority. How much of that was genuinely  _ her,  _ and how much of that was pressure from their families, she’d never know. Nor did it help that the media had tracked their every move, from publishing pictures of their first kiss to documenting their breakup in excruciating detail. And all during that time Kya was travelling the world, flitting from relationship to relationship--

Not that it mattered, anyways. Kya would never love her back.

Nothing was ever forced with Kya, not like how it had been with Tenzin. She looked forward to spending time with Kya more than Tenzin, and it was Kya that Lin had always turned to for anything, not Tenzin. She hadn’t realized she dropped off the first batch of new airbenders at the Northern Air Temple, and she saw the sunlight filter through her silver hair and her eyes crinkle at the edges as she smiled--

It all made sense. It all made  _ sense.  _ She was so in love with Kya, and she hadn’t even realized it.

“Lin? Lin?”

Ketsana jarred Lin from her thoughts. Lin shook her head slightly and tucked some stray hairs behind her ear. “Sorry, Ketsana, I was just thinking. You haven’t been calling me for long, I hope?”

“No, just now, Lin,” Ketsana assured her. “But you were very deep in thought--I’m surprised I was able to call you out of it so quickly. I need your help carrying Chen to one of the healing pools. Well, ‘need’ is a relative term, because I could do it myself, but I figured--”

“Healing pool?” Lin’s brow knit together. “But you just started healing with the infused waters.”

Ketsana softened. “Lin, it’s been well over an hour. Closer to two, actually.”

_ Huh,  _ Lin thought.  _ I must have really been out of it.  _ “Let me get Chen,” Lin said, gently scooping the sleeping girl into her arms.

“I healed her with herbs to promote sleep and healing,” Ketsana said. “The healing herbs promote an anti-inflammatory response, which will prevent her legs from swelling up overnight. They have antibiotic components as well, which will promote healthy healing with, ideally, minimal interference from me and Keo. And the sleeping herbs will keep her in a deep, restful sleep until tomorrow morning.”

Lin looked over the girl’s body as Ketsana explained the different ingredients in her healing waters. There were hardly any bruises--even the boot print that had been so angrily stamped into the front of her thigh was faded. “Thank you, Ketsana,” She said, her eyes not lifting from Chen’s face. For the first time ever, she looked troubled in her sleep. Hopefully those herbs prevented nightmares as well. “How is Asami?”

Ketsana blinked, slightly taken aback. She hadn’t expected Lin to care so much about the girl who had nearly beaten Chen into a pulp. It had taken bunches and bunches of herbs to get her to the point where she was now, and Raava only knew how much time she’d need in the healing pools before she was fully out of the woods. “She’s…..stable. Touchy, but stable. Keo healed what she could on the outside, snapped back that nastily dislocated shoulder into place, but had to transfer her into the healing pools for further work. We think there’s a fractured rib or two. There’s only so much that can be done with spot-treatment healing, so to speak.”   


Lin’s brows knit together and lips pursed. Part of her wanted to ask why the healing pools hadn’t been the first line of treatment utilized like they had been for her, but then again no one ever got into scrapes quite like she did. “At least she’s stable. That’s good news in and of itself.”

“That’s too hard to come by these days,” Ketsana murmured, her head motioning to the anxious murmurs of Bao, Mako, and Bolin down the hall. “They’ve been pacing the entire time.”

“You know how Bao is with Chen, Ketsana. Don’t you remember how she fell during her first earthbending lesson? He was almost apoplectic with worry--”

“Which coincidentally was exactly how he was like with you,” Ketsana said, eyebrow raised. Lin might be able to fool some people by saying Bao was like that for Chen, but it wasn’t fooling her. If anything, Bao was even more like that with Lin herself. “Believe it or not, it’s not Bao worrying the most. It’s the boys. They really care for her, Lin.”

The corner of Lin’s mouth tugged ever so slightly upward. Mako was a good detective, but above all he was a good person. Bo too. They all were, really. “She’s a good kid, Ketsana,” Lin said softly as Ketsana showed her down to a chosen healing pool. Asami was in the one across from it, her hair fanning out in the water. She was asleep, and her makeup had been removed, showing her as the teenager she truly was. Lin’s heart panged in her chest. “She may have beat my kid up, but she’s a good kid.”

Ketsana looked up at Lin as she gently placed her daughter in the healing pool. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were fond of her.”

“I see a lot of myself in her,” Lin admitted softly, settling equidistantly between the two pools. “She’s had far too much placed on her shoulders far too soon.”

“As much as you did?” Ketsana asked, focusing on Chen’s chi. 

Lin’s eyes didn’t lift from the floor. “More.”

Ketsana’s head snapped up to meet Keodara’s worried eyes, and then to the unconscious teen in the pool. This wasn’t just some teen to Lin. What had she been through?

Lin watched as Ketsana and Keodara moved in tandem, moving the chi throughout their patients’ bodies. She hadn’t been wrong about the pressure on Asami. She didn’t have a little sister to look after, sure, but she had the entirety of a legacy on her shoulders--there was certainly no sharing with her mother, may the spirits bless her, or her criminal of a father who had all but destroyed their reputation. No, she was building it from the ground up, day by day with her service to the Avatar and service to the city. Not even her mother had had to do that with the Beifongs.

No, Asami definitely had more on her shoulders than she did at that age.

Lin was mulling over her thoughts and the lives of the children in her care when she noticed something odd in the way both girls’ chi flowed. When Katara had needed to test Lin’s chi after her bending had been restored, the energy had flowed smoothly, the water clear. The girls’ water, however, seemed murky, the chi sluggishly moving. Something was amiss. She looked up to Ketsana and found her confirmation. The waterbender’s mouth was drawn into a tight line, her face belying a storm of emotions. Keodara’s face was slightly more open, worry creasing her brows.

“Ketsana? Keodara? What’s going on?”

Ketsana stopped moving the water in Chen’s pool and sighed, motioning for her daughter to do the same. Both women took a seat. “This fight was bad, Lin.”

“We all know that, we saw the bruises. Why else would the boys and I have brought them in?”

“She doesn’t mean just physical, Aunt Lin,” Keodara said, wringing her hands. “There’s always more to injuries than just the physical.”

Lin’s head tilted. “I don’t understand. I thought you healed their bruises.”

“We did,” Ketsana hemmed. “But here’s the thing. If you ever stopped diving into every fight you ever get into head-first, you’d realize that injuries don’t just physically hurt you, they also disrupt your chi. Have you ever been healed but then realized that your bending isn’t quite up to speed?”

Lin nodded uneasily. 

“That’s why. Because injuries don’t just physically hurt you, they hurt your energies. And these girls? Their chi is very unbalanced.”

“Very,” Keodara echoed. “Asami’s chi is muddied and sluggish. That’s not something we’d really expect to see in a nonbender, much less a 17-year-old one.”

“It’s the same with Chen, Lin,” Ketsana said. “Her chi is not moving the way it should. I’m always a bit wary of her pathways given her ancestry, but this time around it’s worrisome how abnormally her chi is flowing.”

An uneasy pit was beginning to form in the pit of Lin’s stomach. “But you can fix it, right? Infuse some more herbs and set it right?”

Ketsana and Keodara shared a look. Ketsana focused on Lin. “Our herbs can do many things, Lin. And yes, they can promote good chi flow. But that’s the thing--they  _ promote  _ good Chi flow. Meaning, it has to be there in the first place. We don’t have that, not at this point.”

Lin’s heart fell into her stomach. “Are you saying that the girls can’t be healed? Chen, Asami--they’re going to be suffering forever?”

“Wha--no, absolutely not!” Ketsana said, vigorously shaking her head. She mentally kicked herself--considering Lin’s history, she should have known better than to phrase it like that. “No, the girls will be okay. But chi healing, and chi healing of this magnitude, needs another healer. Someone who has this as their specialty.”

“What are you saying?”

“We need Kya, Lin.”


	5. Chapter 5

She sat on the beach, skipping rocks into the ocean off of Air Temple Island. It could have been the perfect afternoon, what with the sky clear and the summer breeze, but there was someone missing: Lin. Where was Lin when you needed her?

For the first time since Zaheer was arrested, Kya had finally had a day off. It was well warranted, but not wanted--Korra hadn’t been improving in her care, so she had been sent to the South Pole to be healed by her mother. While Tenzin and the rest of the world had lauded her for stabilizing the Avatar, it wasn’t a true success. It was a postponement--Korra’s case was far beyond her abilities. 

Was it possible that Korra might not ever fully recover? She wasn’t sure, but she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about it. 

Now if she told Tenzin and Pema this, they’d offer her platitudes. If she told Bumi this, he’d crack a joke to cheer her up without ever addressing the root of the problem. But Lin? Lin would understand. She always did.

She ran a hand through her greying hair. “Lin, where are you when I need you?”

Her life had always been...tumultuous. Her father and younger brother were hardly home, her mother was always off working, her older brother had left for the army as soon as he could--but Lin had always been there. Always. Kya had always found comfort in Lin’s steady, unyielding presence. She was strong, assertive, so much like the element she bent. More than that, she understood Kya on a deeper level. Both of them had grown up in unstable households, their personal lives plastered all throughout the papers. They also had near-impossible legacies to uphold. And she didn’t have to say anything about it. Lin just  _ knew.  _

What Lin didn’t know, however, was how long she had been in love with her. Lin, with her bright green eyes. Lin, with that wry smile and dry wit. Lin, just  _ Lin _ . She had traveled all around the world, had had her share of flings to try and forget. But none of them, none of them had ever made her feel the way that Lin did when she saw her at the Northern Air Temple, her wavy hair framing her perfect cheekbones.

Fuck, she was so in love with Lin.

“Master Kya, ma’am?”

Kya turned around to find a young Air Acolyte shifting nervously in place, her robes too large for her slight body. She smiled softly as a way to ease the girl’s nervousness. “Has another airbender given themselves a concussion? It’s perfectly alright if they have.”

“Well, yes ma’am, but that’s not why I’m here. You have a phone call from Gaoling.”

Kya shook herself off and chuckled. Lin always had impeccable timing. She followed the girl to her specific phone, tucked away in a corner by the infirmary. After thanking the girl, she turned to the phone. “I was just thinking about you. Can I just say that you have excellent timing?”

“Oh——not——Lin——Keodar—“

_ Oh good _ , Kya thought.  _ A shoddy landline. You’d think they’d have better connections at this point. Wait, the person who introduced themselves, was that a Water Tribe name? Was that one of her healers? _

Dread seeped through her bones. “What’s wrong? Where is Lin?”

“She——but——not——-Beifong——hurt——“

Oh fuck.  _ Beifong hurt.  _ Oh no, no, no—

“I’M COMING I’M COMING I’M COMING!” She yelled into the phone, hanging it up with a clang. She took a deep breath to steady herself. “Fuck.”

She ran into the infirmary and grabbed her go-pack. She didn’t bother looking for extra tinctures—if Lin was in Gaoling, she’d either have everything she needed or be able to source it for her. Oh Raava,  _ Lin _ . What had she gotten herself into now? She stormed down the hall, acolytes flattening themselves to the wall as she passed by. She sprinted across the courtyard and straight into Tenzin, singleminded in her goal.

“Kya, look where you’re—where are you going?”

“Oh good, you’re back, that means I can take Oogi!” she called out, not looking back.

A vein bulged in Tenzin’s reddening head. “You’re taking—that’s my air bison!”

“You have a glider, you’ll survive.”  _ If I don’t take Oogi, Lin might not.  _

Tenzin harrumphed and crossed his arms. “He’s not a taxi service!”

Kya bit back a laugh as the air bison came into her view. Like Tenzin had ever used one. “No, he’s not! He’s better!” 

With that she skidded to a stop, pressed her forehead to his nose in a hongi, and climbed aboard. Tenzin was his human, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t accept her pets or her treats. “C’mon Oogi! Yip yip!”

Oogi lifted off and rapidly climbed into the sky. Already Tenzin was just a red dot on the ground, yelling about Oogi’s favorite hay and snacks, as if she hadn’t grown up with him her entire life. As the sun began to set in the sky, she urged him towards Gaoling. 

Towards Lin. 

* * *

“Lin, you need to eat.”

Ketsana shoved a bowl of glass noodles in front of Lin’s face. It had been hours since they had started healing, and even past dinner time there was so much left to complete. After they had ascertained that the girls’ chi was stable, they set them to sleep back in the room while preparing themselves for a long night of healing ahead. They had urged Lin to eat with the boys, or rest. She, of course, had refused both, instead watching over the girls. Lin pushed the bowl away. “I’m not hungry.”

Ketsana sighed and left the bowl next to Lin. “It’s there when you want it.”

Lin nodded, mutely staring at the floor. She could never eat when Chen was sick out of anxiety and fear. If Chen wasn’t okay, nothing was. Lin hugged her knees to her chest, trying to desperately to soothe herself. After a few moments, she let her legs noiselessly fall to the floor. “Raava, how did we get here?” she spoke aloud, leaning her head against the wall. Against it, she felt mumbling.

Then a roar.

_ “WHERE IS SHE?!” _

Lin blindly bolted out of the room and down the hall to find Kya, her go-pack thrown at her feet, her silver hair mussed by the wind, yelling at the top of her lungs as Bao, Mako, Bolin, Ketsana, and Keodara tried desperately to calm her. Lin’s heart stopped. 

“Kya?” she whispered, cutting through the commotion. 

Kya was mid-yell when she saw Lin and froze.  _ “Lin.”  _ She crossed the room and threw herself into the earthbender’s arms, sobbing without sound. 

As if she had always done this, Lin tightened her arms around Kya, rocking them back and forth. She soothingly rubbed circles into her back and gently gestured with her head for the others to leave them be. “I’m okay, Kya. I’m okay.” After a few minutes, Kya looked up. Lin noticed that her eyes were bloodshot, as if she had already been crying for a while, and used the pad of her thumb to brush away her tears. “I’m right here.”

“I was so  _ scared _ , Lin,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “The entire way over here, all I could think about was how  _ hurt  _ you were and how I wasn’t  _ there  _ and I thought--I thought--”

“Thought you wouldn’t make it in time,” she finished, an aching feeling in her chest. Leading the Force had been one of the greatest honors of her life, but at great personal cost. She had lost Tenzin. She had lost her bending. And that was just  _ her _ . That wasn’t anywhere near what her loved ones experienced--the uncertainty that she would return. Chen would wake up screaming in the middle of the night as a child from night terrors where she had never come home. Kya had panic-ridden Oogi, hoping and praying that she wouldn’t be dead by the time she got there. It  _ killed  _ her to see Kya this way. “But I’m okay. I’m okay. See?”

Kya took a deep, shuddering breath and smiled that beautiful, radiant smile. If Lin hadn’t any propriety she would have kissed her right then and there. Just as quickly as it happened, Kya’s face clouded over. “But you do need me as a healer, don’t you? Whichever healer called me seemed pretty panicked. And if you’re okay--” Her eyes widened in panic. “Where’s Chen?”

Lin could feel tears pricking the back of her eyelids. “She and Asami got in a fight,” she said softly. She bat a few away tears, and Kya reached out to clasp her hand. “She and Asami got in a fight, and now their chi is unbalanced, and--”

“Wait, wait, wait--first things first,” Kya said soothingly. “Chen and Asami got into a fight? With who, Mako and Bolin? If it’s those two I’m going to need a word or ten--”

“No, no, not with Mako and Bolin. With each other.”

Kya’s eyes widened. “Chen? And Asami?  _ With each other? _ ”

Lin nodded, her throat tightening.

Kya turned towards where the girls were and grabbed her go-pack. Having been called in enough, she had an idea where they would be kept. Lin, if anything, was a creature of habit. “Then small wonder I was called in. Let’s go!”

Lin could barely keep up with Kya as she dragged her through her own halls. Kya yanked her into the doorway of the girls’ rooms, where Ketsana and Keodara were already fretting over their charges. As soon as the healer stepped into the room, they stepped back, their hands clasped in front of them. Kya dumped her bag on the nearby counter and gestured to them both to relax. “At ease, you two. Looks like  _ someone  _ has been teaching you two to stand at attention. Typical Lin,” she said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “Anyways, what do we have for us today?”

“Is there any way I can help?” Lin asked, fidgeting in place. She  _ hated  _ feeling so useless. Good thing she had three of the best healers in the world here to help.

“You can sit in that chair and eat your noodles,” Kya said, bending water from Keodara’s proffered container. “Don’t think I didn’t notice. You never eat when you’re stressed.”

Lin huffed and sat down in the chair, annoyedly stuffing the noodles in her mouth. With a satisfied hmph, Kya turned to Ketsana. “Alright, so who needs the most attention?”

“We should look at Chen, Kya,” Ketsana said, showing her to where Chen lay, sound asleep. Ketsana had been right about those herbs--she hadn’t woken up once since they were administered. “Her chi pathways are always a bit touchy. Is it an Airbending trait?”

“Perhaps, though I’m not sure I would classify as an airbending trait so much as an Avatar one,” Kya mused, bending water over Chen’s chi points in her shoulders. A touch-test, she had called it once--to see how someone’s chi was flowing in a certain area without the use of a healing pool. “Based on my experiences with my other nieces and nephews, being descended from a half-person, half-spirit leaves one with some very interesting quirks. Run-down?”

Ketsana, forcing the half-eaten bowl back into Lin’s hands, completely undressed Chen from pajamas to her bindings. “She came to us with bruises across the entirety of her chest and abdomen, mainly focused on her chest,” she began to rattle off, pointing to each of the named areas.” Three bruised ribs. Bruising all down her back, concentrated around her spinal cord and upper back. Welts and swelling on upper back, most likely from repeated slamming. Bruising on legs, strained legs, swollen from repeated blows. Bootprint on front right thigh.”

“And yet save for the faded bootprint, you can hardly tell she was in a fight. Well done,” She said with the hint of a smile. She tilted her hip and tilted her head back. “How’ve you been, Ketsana?”

Ketsana, who was bending over pressure points in Chen’s legs, mirrored Kya’s stance, tilting her head closer to the other healer. “Life’s been good. Quiet, mostly.”

Kya tipped her chin back and brought her water up, swirling it a touch suggestively. “Hm. Is that a good thing? Then again, I wouldn’t know that. I’m not a very  _ quiet _ person--”

“Oh, I know that,” Ketsana said, a smile playing at the edges of her mouth.

Kya smirked.

“Still, they say it’s never too late to learn,” Ketsana hummed, a warmth in her voice.

Kya played surprised. “Is that so? Would you teach me, then?”

The mood changed so quickly Kya might as well have gotten whiplash. Well, not the general mood. Lin’s mood. Her aura, which had been so vibrantly rosy upon first seeing her, was now so grey it was almost opaque. The slate floor fractured underneath Lin’s chair. Lin’s eyes widened at her unconscious bending, looking down at the crack in the floor and at the shocked healers. She jabbed her wrists as she crossed her arms and bolted out of the room.

Keodara stared wide-eyed at the jagged crack in the floor, an act of bending that somehow hadn’t disturbed either of her charges. Ketsana’s eyes, however, were on Kya. She was shaking, her face pale. And were those--Raava, those were tears in her eyes. Oh, how did she not see that?

“Well, now I know why she’s been staring so longingly into the distance as of late. She’s been pining for you. Looks like you’ve done the same.” Ketsana clasped a hand on her shoulder and motioned with her head. “Kya. Go get your girl.”

Kya, chin trembling, nodded as she ran out after Lin. She turned a corner, then another, then threw open the door to find Lin outside standing still, too still. Her head was tilted upward, and Kya could barely make out her gasps for air. “Oh Lin,” she breathed.

“What are you doing?” Lin rasped. Kya winced at the pain in her voice. “Don’t you have more pressing matters at hand?” 

Kya looked around for water and saw a nearby bamboo fountain. She pulled the water towards her and bent it over Lin’s wrist. The woman winced but said nothing as the water brightened. The healer drew closer and closer until she was next to Lin, her hands hovering above the water. “I saw you chi-block yourself after you split the floor. Things happen, Lin. It’s okay. Today has been really difficult.” As the water faded, Kya removed the water and bent it over the other wrist. Lin looked down, refusing to look Kya in the eye. 

“Kya, leave me here. Go look after the girls.”

“I am,” she said, watching over the healing water. When she was finished, she bent it back to its original location. “I am looking after my girl.” 

Lin’s head snapped around just in time to meet Kya’s lips in a searing kiss. She rested her head against Kya, barely breathing. “I thought--I thought--I thought you didn’t like me like that.”

Kya smiled. “Lin, I’ve been in love with you for a long, long time.” 

Lin pulled back, eyes wide with shock. “You love me?”

Kya nodded, radiating love. “I’m in love with you, Lin Beifong. And I always will be.”

Lin teared up and pulled Kya in for a kiss. When they finally pulled apart, Lin couldn’t stop smiling. “I love you too.”


	6. Chapter 6

They stood together for hours it felt like, foreheads pressed together. Lin loved Kya. Kya loved Lin. They loved each other. And it felt so  _ right.  _ So, so right.

In reality, they had only been there for ten minutes.

“Um, excuse me?” Keodara said softly, poking her head out the door.

The two women startled slightly at the voice interrupting them. 

“I’m so sorry to intrude,” Keodara continued, “but my mother’s asking for you, Master Kya.”

“She has?” Kya asked, raising an eyebrow. “What did she say?”

Keodara reddened instantly. “She said, and I quote, ‘Please get the lovebirds back inside so that we can finish our healing session for tonight. There's other things they should be doing until sunrise.’”

Lin’s face instantly heated up as Kya died of laughter. “Your mother never misses an opportunity! Come on, Lin.”

The couple walked hand-in-hand to the healing room. Ketsana set her hand on her hip, a smug smile on her face. “You two have fun out there?”

Kya rolled her eyes and play-nudged Ketsana to the side. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s do a chi-check on Chen, okay? And then Asami. Poor girl, I haven’t even gotten to her yet. Thank goodness her chi paths aren’t as touchy.”

“Hmm, quite.” Ketsana replied, an undercurrent of mirth in her voice. “We might actually get some sleep tonight. And by we, I mean me and Keodara. It’s certainly not going to be you two.”

Lin, who had just sat down, sank even lower in her chair. “Oh, fuck me,” she muttered.

“Directed at the wrong person, my dear,” Ketsana said to Kya, who didn’t even try to hide her smirk. 

Lin hid her head in her hands. She was sure people could still see she was red from embarrassment. Kya shook her head and chuckled. “Alright, time to do a full check of Chen. Keodara, the water.”

The youngest healer bent water towards Kya and her mother. Kya took one half while Ketsana took the other. “What are you seeing?”

“Exhaustion and occluding around the Fire chakra. You?”

“Exhaustion and occluding around Air and Sound.” Kya stole a look at Lin, who was peeking out from behind her hands. “Most people have occludements. I would say you probably do too, but it’s not a probability, it’s a certainty. In Chen’s case, it’s not bad. A conversation with Asami and a couple sessions with us should clear that right up. Keodara, time for Asami?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lin’s head shot out of her hands. “Wait,  _ what?  _ Are you saying that all of this could have been handled with  _ talking _ ?”

Ketsana snorted as Keodara undid Asami’s pajamas down to her bindings. “Sure, Lin. Chen ground Asami into a pulp, but that could have been handled with a song and dance.”

Kya’s mouth tugged upwards. “Rundown, please?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Keodara said, nervously beginning to rattle injuries off. “Bruising across chest and abdomen, mainly concentrated around the ribcage. Multiple bruised ribs on right side. Bruising from the nape of the neck to the tailbone, mainly concentrated around the spinal cord and upper back. Welts and bruising on the upper back mainly concentrated around the shoulder blades, most likely from repeated slamming on a hard surface. Cuts on upper back, from slamming on a hard surface. Black eye over right eye. Busted lip. Wrenched right shoulder, moderately dislocated right shoulder. Bite marks on left hand.”

“Sounds worse than what Chen had despite the size differential. Beifongs always give better than they get.” Kya closely examined Asami’s shoulder, the now-faded black eye, and the bruised ribs Keodara had pointed out. The bruises were only faintly there--a far cry from the angry splotches they had originally been. Her lips quirked upwards. “You have your mother’s touch.”

Keodara pinked with praise as Ketsana threw an arm around her shoulders. “Thank you so much, ma’am!”

“Oh kid, don’t call me ma’am. Not even your mother does that,” Kya said, throwing a wink to Ketsana. “Speaking of your mother, Ketsana, chi-check? Keodara, stay and watch.”

Ketsana removed her arm and nodded to her daughter to fetch the healing water. She and Kya both took different halves of Asami’s body, using the water to check her chi points and flow. Kya pointed out the different chi points and the chakras that were their sources. Lin watched Kya with love and awe. Kya was so kind, and caring, and she was  _ hers.  _ She couldn’t dream anything better.

Well, she could. Asami and Chen wouldn’t have beat each other senseless.

“Alright, I think I’ve seen what I needed to see,” Kya said, returning the healing water to its container. “Ketsana, you?”

“Same here.” The healer returned her water as well. “Exhaustion and occluding around Fire chakra.”

“Thought so. She has exhaustion and occluding around her Air and Sound chakras, same as Chen.”

The two healers nodded in silence, having each come to the same conclusion. A conclusion that Lin was clueless about. “What does any of that mean?”

“May I?” Keodara asked. Kya smiled and gestured for her to continue. “Chakras are places in the body where chi is heavily concentrated. It can overflow, leading to people to act based on their strongest emotions. They can also be occluded. In this case, it was both.”

Lin raised an eyebrow. “Both?”   
“The Fire chakra deals with willpower and is blocked by shame, the Air chakra deals with love and is blocked by grief, and the Sound chakra deals with truth and is blocked by lies,” Ketsana explained, pointing at the location of each chakra on Asami’s body. “If you have an overflowing chakra, it means that you’re more likely to act based on that chakra. Of particular note is how on both girls the Fire chakra is exhausted and starting to build up occlusion.”

“I’m not catching your drift--”

“They threw their willpower aside to fight each other, Lin, and they’re both ashamed of it,” Kya clarified quietly. “They’re not even awake yet, but chi doesn’t lie. That’s why there’s small occludements for both of them. It was so against their nature that they’re subconsciously trying to block their chakras to ensure it doesn’t happen again. They’re ashamed, and they don’t want to acknowledge that they did it. That’s why we need them to talk to each other, Lin. If they don’t, they might actually block their own chi. And that’s much more difficult to ameliorate.”

“But it can be fixed, right?”

“Of course,” Kya assured her. “But let’s hope that it’s not necessary. We just need the girls to talk to each other, to get whatever is that motivated them to fight off their chest.”

Lin sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It didn’t sound good, but helping them sounded doable. Just have both of them talk to each other. She could do that. “What’s next?”

“Let them sleep. There’s nothing more that we can do at this moment,” Ketsana said, redressing Chen and motioning for her daughter to do the same for Asami. “Keodara and I can stay in the next room to make sure that they don’t need anything during the night.”

“You sure, Ketsana?” Lin asked hesitantly. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. Now go. You two have more important things to do,” Ketsana said, a glint in her eye as she shooed them out and shut the door behind them. 

The two women looked at each other, a buzzing in the air. Lin took Kya’s hand. “Come with me.”

Time didn’t exist as Lin led her love through the healing courtyard, into the main house, through the hallways, into her room. Into  _ their  _ room.

“Well, here we are.”

Kya smiled. “Here we are.”

And then. 

And then.

Lin barely breathed the night.


	7. Chapter 7

The first rays of sunlight were peeking through the window when Kya woke up. Then she felt movement, and looked down to see Lin resting on her chest, her leg splayed across Kya’s body. Kya began to trace the beauty that was Lin. The curve of her collarbone. The muscle of her arm. The scars that peppered her skin. If she could, she’d press a kiss to every single one.

If she could? She could. 

Oh, she  _ would _ . 

As if Lin could sense her ministrations, she began to stir. “Hey,” she said sleepily.

“Hey yourself.” Kya languidly skimmed the small of Lin’s back. A small smile began to creep up. “You sleep well?”

A low laugh rumbled through Lin. “Oh, is that what you’d call it?” She cupped Kya’s face and gave her a kiss, then pulled them both to the side. “I can think of something better.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who doesn't want to see more Kyalin fluff? Stay tuned for more with the story, please read and review :)


	8. Chapter 8

“Hey, does this look good on me?”

Lin could barely breathe as Kya examined herself in the bedroom mirror. She was wearing an old Water Tribe tunic dress Lin had found in the back of her closet. Neither of them knew it had existed, much less how long it had been there. Yet it seemed to fit Kya perfectly, the silhouette outlining all the right places. 

Kya was in her bedroom modeling clothes for her. No, Kya was in  _ their  _ bedroom modeling clothes for her, because they were together. A couple. Lin could barely get herself together. 

“Based on your dumbfounded reaction I’m going to go with yes,” Kya said, clearly pleased with herself. “Now come, let’s find something for you.”

“Oh, there’s no need,” Lin said, standing up and readying herself to metalbend her suit onto herself.

Kya sighed and gently placed her hand on Lin’s shoulder. “Lin.”

Lin faltered slightly. “What?”

“You don’t need to put your uniform on. You’re not on duty, remember?” Kya gently lowered Lin’s arm. “You can let your guard down.” She gently held Lin’s hand and brought it to her lips. “Maybe that means you can let me in.”

Lin’s breath hitched in her throat. She was about to respond when she heard a polite knock at the door. “Lin? Are you in there?”

Lin froze.  _ “Baba,” _ she mouthed to Kya. “Yes, Baba?”

“Breakfast isn’t ready yet, but do you want some coffee?”

“No, Baba, we’ll get some when we’re done getting ready!” She called out. 

She could sense the questions as soon as she said  _ we.  _ “Alright, sounds good,” Bao said, his footsteps receding down the hall. 

Kya listened until she could no longer hear the man, then turned to see a visibly anxious Lin. “Lin?”

“What is Baba going to think about us?” She said, wringing her hands. “What will he say? What if-what if-“

“Your baba?” Kya raised an eyebrow. “Your baba, the one who’s loved you since you were born? Your baba, the one who,  _ along with his husband _ , raised you?”

“Yes, that baba! What if—what if—what if he’s  _ happy _ ?”

Kya smoothed down the rumpled sheets of the bed and motioned for Lin to join her. “Sweetheart,” she said, caressing the woman’s cheek. “Why would that be a bad thing?”

Lin leaned into the caress, her lower lip trembling. “Oh, Lin,” Kya said softly. “Talk to me.”

The metalbender took a shaky breath. “I don’t want to disappoint,” she whispered. “I’ve done it so many times, I can’t—I love him so much, and I love  _ you _ so much, I couldn’t—“

Kya tilted Lin’s chin up. “What makes you think you disappoint?”

“Where do I start?” She shakily ran a hand through her hair. Kya got the feeling that Lin had been ruminating on this for a while, far before she was called in for Chen. Honestly, probably since at least Korra. 

Oh, Lin. Why does she always keep things so bottled up?

“I lost my bending, I couldn’t protect Tenzin and his family, I didn’t listen to Mako and arrest Varrick when I should have and now, now I couldn’t protect Korra,” Lin said, averting her gaze. “I followed her to the ends of the earth and I still couldn’t keep her safe.”

“And I couldn’t heal her,” Kya said. She nodded at Lin’s questioning gaze. “She left for Mom just two days ago.”

“But you kept her stable!”

“And you kept her  _ alive _ .” Kya stood up and put her hands on her hips. “So you’ve fucked something up. You think I haven’t? I have many,  _ many  _ times. Does that mean you’ll love me less?”

“What, absolutely not! Why would you think—“

“That? Exactly. Lin, when people love each other, they’re not blinded to their faults. They choose to love them, for everything that they are.” Kya pulled Lin up and kissed her. “That’s why you could never disappoint your Baba. More so, that’s why you could never disappoint  _ me. _ I love you— _ all _ of you. And I know that everyone else around here does too.”

Lin blushed and nodded. “Maybe so.”

“Maybe so? Maybe so?! Did I not just say--” 

Lin grinned mischievously. 

Kya yanked an ao dai out of the closet and threw it into Lin’s hands. “Just. Go. Go get dressed. I can’t deal with you right now.”

Lin grinned and took the clothes to the bathroom, five minutes later appearing in billowy dark brown pants and high-necked green tunic patterned with the rolling hills of Gaoling. “How do I look?”

Kya did up the buttons of the tunic, finishing the last one with a kiss under Lin’s jaw. “Perfect. You look perfect.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was partially written with the help of my dear friend @braigwen. The character Bar is all hers, and I'm so delighted that she allowed me to use him in this story!

For the first time these past two weeks, Bao was up before Lin. 

Thank Raava.

He made himself a cup of coffee and grabbed a newspaper to read at the kitchen table, enjoying the relative quiet before the chaos that was Mako, Bolin, Asami, and Chen.

Well, Mako and Bolin this time around. Asami and Chen….he wasn’t disappointed so much as confused. Whatever could have possessed them to fight each other, and so cruelly? Asami is almost twice Chen’s size, she should have known better! And Chen, she knew better too! The best thing they could have done was call Kya in to heal them. If Kya had spent the night healing them, then Lin would have stayed up as well. He would have gotten Lin coffee, but there was someone else with her….

Well. 

_ Good. _

“Baba?”

Bao looked up to find Lin nervously peeking into the kitchen. Kya stood behind her, dressed impeccably, her hands clasped in front of her. Lin wasn’t in her uniform - she was wearing an ao dai. She looked … she looked frightened. “Lin,” he said carefully, making sure his voice was light, “what have you and Kya got to tell me?”

If anything had hurt the girls -  _ his _ girls, Lin and Chen and -

And -

Lin’s mouth opened, and then it closed again. She hung her head. Alarmed, Bao got up to his feet, remembering just in time that he should set his coffee down, and took a step towards his daughter. “Lin,” he repeated, his voice gentle. “You know you can always talk to me. About - about  _ anything _ .”

He brushed his hand against her arm, wary of a reaction, but she didn’t flinch away from him, nor utterly collapse. She was just … still. Still still. His eyes lifted, and tunnelled into Kya’s. He wanted to ask her what was going on, and a little part of him also wanted to remind her what he would do if she’d hurt his little girl, child of Katara or no. She wasn’t the last airbender. But Kya’s eyes were, in response to his wordless inquiry, filled with nothing but fondness and a desire to help - a reflection of his own eternal attitude, both in general and towards Lin. Towards Lin.

“We had a happy surprise for you,” said Kya, her own hand clasping Lin’s arm a few inches above Bao’s. Kya’s other hand lifted still higher, and brushed itself against Lin’s left cheek. Bao’s eyes widened.

“Oh, tell me I’m not dreaming,” he said, “tell me - Lin, tell me, tell me I’m not just jumping to unreasonable conclusions! Lin, sweetheart, are - are -”

“We are,” Lin whispered, a smile curving around her mouth.

Bao’s heart exploded. He launched towards Lin, and wrapped his arms tightly around her, lifting her sheer up from the ground, ignoring her small noises of protest that meant she was, actually, thrilled by it. Then he let her back down on the floor and opened his arms up wide. Smiling broadly, Kya hugged him right back. “Thank you, Bao,” she mouthed to him.

“No, darling,” he replied, “thank  _ you _ .”

At some point, all three of them began crying. Bao wiped his tears with a trembling hand and wrapped both Kya and Lin in his arms. “I am so happy for you both. I am so,  _ so _ happy. That you have each other, that you’ve found happiness and comfort...”

“Thanks, Baba,” she said, leaning into Kya’s side. She was still smiling, just a little. “We’re really happy too.”

“GROUP HUG!”

Before he could react, Bolin squished into their group hug.

This interruption upset the delicate balance of the two middle-aged women and the one elderly father all hugging, and the three of them lost their balance. Kya calmly regained it half a step back, and Lin did so with rather more force, but Bao was sent stumbling. “Baba!” said Lin in alarm, as Bao was bowled backwards by seemingly the sheer force of Bolin’s exuberance.

“I’m alright!” he announced, though short of breath; he was delighted by the boy’s rapid-fire love and excitement.

“Oh-I’m so, so, sorry, sir! I just saw a hug, and I didn’t realize--I should have realized, I’m so sorry!” The garrulous boy began to apologize.

Bao held up one hand, laughing a little breathlessly. “That’s quite alright, Bolin,” he said, brushing thin strands of white out of his face and back into his namesake ponytail. He smiled encouragingly. “I appreciate your joy, and the fact you didn’t hold it back. Then, more seriously, he extended his statement. “The world needs more people who do that like you.”

Bo bashfully rubbed the back of his head. “You’re much too kind, sir.”

“Yes, he is,” Lin drawled, her arms crossed. Kya rolled her eyes and nudged her with her shoulder. “I mean, yes, my father is very kind indeed.” Kya nudged her again. Lin sighed. “It’s good to have your joy, Bolin. It’s...more necessary than you think.” Kya looked smug. 

Bao’s face shifted from happiness to sorrow in an instant. “Sweetheart,” he began, but Lin shook her head. 

“It’s true, Baba.” She tossed her head a bit. She couldn’t let Bolin get too big of a head about this, and she couldn’t be too soft either. She’d never live it down. “Bolin...maybe it has been really nice having you here.”

Kya raised an eyebrow. “Maybe?” Bao turned away to hide his smile.

“Okay...it has been really nice having you here,” she said, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “It’s nice to see someone so excited about the little things. After everything that’s happened...it’s really necessary. So thank you, Bolin, truly.”

Bo beamed, and he picked her up into a bonecrushing hug. “Awww, Chief! You didn’t have to!”

“No, I didn’t,” Lin muttered as Bo squeezed her. She could hear Kya and Bao trying their best to hide their snickers in the background.  _ Be nice _ , the little voice in her head said.  _ He’s a good kid, he should know that you think that, _ it said.  _ Life is too short not to _ , it said. And what does she get out of it? A happy kid, sure, but also a hug so tight it’s probably cutting off circulation. 

She couldn’t lie though, this was very nice. 

At that precise moment, Mako walked in. He sleepily peered into the room until he saw his brother squeezing the Chief and then shook himself awake. “Hi everyone wha--BO, PUT THE CHIEF DOWN!”

Bolin immediately put the chief down and backed away, looking down guiltily as Bao put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Lin straightened out her now slightly rumpled clothing, but didn’t seem angry or even displeased. “Sorry about that, Chief. Uh,” he said eloquently upon realizing she wasn’t in her uniform. He rubbed the back of his neck. Shit, he only brought his pajamas and his street clothes. “Is something going on? Because Bolin and I, we don’t, uh, have fancy clothes here.”

“Nothing is going on, Mako,” Lin assured him. She moved to cross her arms, but let them fall to her sides.

“Sweet Raava, Lin, do you wear your armor even when you’re not on duty? We have got to get you in non-uniform clothes more often.” Kya threw an arm around Lin’s shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. Lin reached up to grasp Kya’s wrist. “You should not be scaring the kids by wearing different clothing.”

“I’m not scaring the kids by wearing different clothes,” She murmured into Kya’s ear, then turned to the boy, her boy. “Right, Mako?”

Mako was about to stutter out a reply when Bao spoke up. “Lin, be nice to the boy,” Bao jokingly chided, waving the boy over to him and Bo. “Tsk tsk. And you were doing so well.” 

Lin rolled her eyes as Kya giggled and brought her closer to her side. Mako watched the two women, and the man watching over them fondly. They had grown up together in Republic City, and their parents’ work put them in constant contact with each other. He wouldn’t be terribly surprised if Lin had grown up on Air Temple Island, or Kya in HQ. Bao was Lin’s father, for all intents and purposes. He had taught her pretty much everything, both on the job and otherwise from what he could tell. And, though she wasn’t here right now, there was Chen. Her  _ daughter.  _ Lin had a whole family behind her.

Where did Bo fit in in this equation? Where did he?

“Hey hey hey. We can’t have you getting all morose on me.” Mako shook himself out of his thoughts to see Lin had shrugged off Kya’s arm and was now directly across from him. She hesitated, then reached a hand out to gently muss his bedhead. “That’s my job in this family, not yours.”

Mako reached up, his fingers brushing hers as they retreated. “Family?” He asked softly, eyes widening.

Lin nodded, a smile lightly on her lips. “I mean it. It’s not the most conventional of families, mind you. You’d have a metalbender for a grandbaba, and for a sister. You’d have both a metalbender and a waterbender for...for…” She couldn’t bring herself to say  _ mother _ . Partially because she didn’t want to put Kya in that position if she didn’t want it, and partially because, well, she didn’t know  _ how _ to be a mother. Chen notwithstanding, of course.

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “Yes.”

Lin nodded, then pulled him into a tight hug. He had always been her boy, the one out of the Krew she had originally liked the most.

Now he was finally a part of the family.

She let him go and he looked down, blushing, though he was very clearly pleased with her reaction. “Thanks, Chief.” Her words began to fully wash over him. “Metalbending and waterbending moms, like you and Kya? You and Kya, Kya and you--are you two--?”

Kya sauntered over, threw an arm around Lin’s waist, and pulled her in tight for a kiss. She raised an eyebrow at a gobsmacked Mako as Bolin whooped in the background. Kya pulled away just in time for Bolin to pull her into a bear hug. “You can keep Mako as your favorite, Lin,” she called out, “Bo is mine!”

Mako turned towards a rapidly reddening Lin. He could see Bao shaking his head and chuckling behind her. “Keep? Favorite?”

Lin crossed her arms. Sighing, the corner of her mouth upturned. “Maybe. But try not to get too big a head about it. As it is, I’ll never hear the end of it from Bolin.” She gestured with her head towards the garrulous teen, who was already regaling a thrilled Kya with tales about his time on Team Avatar. 

Mako smiled, his eyes crinkling. “I make no promises.”

The chief rolled her eyes mock-exasperatedly, a smile languidly spreading on her face. No, that he couldn’t. 

Bao watched the scene in front of him with contentment. Lin had always had a tendency to hold people at arm’s length; after Tenzin, and after Chen, this quality had only solidified. It hadn’t been until Avatar Korra had arrived in Republic City that Lin began to relax. In fact, these past few months were the freest that he had ever seen Lin. 

He felt a tickle underneath his feet, and closed his eyes to sense someone walking towards them. He opened his eyes to see Ketsana leaning in the doorway, a small half-eaten baozi in hand, and waved her in. “Ketsana, good morning! You look well-rested--I trust everything went well last night?”

“It did, in no small thanks to Kya,” Ketsana said, appreciatively nodding to the healer. “Keodara and I actually got some sleep last night. Not sure it would have been possible without her.”

“Ketsana, you flatter me so,” Kya said, throwing a hand on her hip. “I trust the girls are still sleeping?”

“Funny you should ask.” Ketsana motioned with her head. “Boys, breakfast has been served in the dining room. I would take advantage of the baozi while you can.”

Bo furrowed his brow. “But how did breakfast get made? Aren’t we in the kitchen?”

“There’s multiple kitchens, and the cooks decided to use one of the other ones.” Ketsana shrugged her shoulders as she popped the rest of the baozi in her mouth. “I don’t question, especially when the food’s this good. Lin, Kya, with me.”

Lin’s mouth went dry, and she reached out for Kya’s hand. Having been healed by Ketsana all of her life, she knew better than to intrude on the healing hut unless specifically invited. Usually it was her who was the object of healing, and not her daughter. “Chen, Asami, are they--”

“They’re awake,” Ketsana said, gesturing for them to walk with her. “Had a good night’s sleep. Asami woke up before Chen, which I expected. But Chen needs your touch, Kya. Please.”

Kya and Lin took one look at each other. “How bad is it?” Kya asked, drawing Lin close to her. 

“It’s not good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We love a good found family, as well as a twist. Please read and review! :)


	10. Chapter 10

She felt like what bruises looked like.

Chen opened her eyes and blinked a few times to acclimate herself to the light in the room. By her guess it was early morning, just based on how the sun suffused throughout the space. Doubtful anyone else would be up at this time save for maybe Aunt Ketsana and Keodara. Things must have been bad to have kept her in the healing hut overnight. She couldn’t remember a singular aspect of the healing session, and she only had a vague recollection of her dreams.  They were...troublesome. 

Guess that’s what happened when one went against their own code of behavior.

Chen was--no, is--many things, one of the most important being her role as part-time Regent of Gaoling. Caring for her people was a monumental task, and one that required her to be kind, wise, and just.

Brawling with Asami did not fit that at _all_. 

She was never the girl who baited people, who brawled, who  _ dislocated someone’s shoulder and gave them a black eye _ . She couldn’t deny how deliciously good it felt in the moment, but afterwards? No wonder the Air Nomads espoused letting go of anger. It truly was like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.  Even so, the last thing she wanted to do was apologize. Spirits, if the earth could swallow her up instead! 

….There were some badgermole nests not too far away. Would they take her in? 

She groaned at the thought and burrowed down deep in her sheets so she could go back to sleep. Just as she felt herself lulling off, movement startled her. Chen pulled the sheets down around her to see Keodara watching anxiously in the doorway. “Hey, Keo,” she greeted, sleepily waving as she drew herself up to a seated position.

The healer rushed over to give the girl a gentle hug. “Oh thank  _ Raava _ you’re okay! I was so worried, what with everything that happened and the shape you were in, you were  _ both  _ in, and now that you’re the last one awake and--”

“Keo, I’m okay,” she said, trying not to wince when the healer let her go. “I’m okay. What do you mean that I’m last one up?”

“You’re the last one to wake up, at least in the healing hut. Mom and I woke up not too long after sunrise, and Asami’s been up for about an hour or so. Mom’s brewing a new set of waters, so I thought I would check on you.” Keodara extended a hand. “Come on. I think it’s time for another healing session. Don’t think I didn’t see that wince.”

The corner of Chen’s mouth tugged upwards. She slowly got out of bed and hissed when she stood up straight for the first time, sagging to the ground until Keodara caught her. “Don’t tell Mama that happened,” she pleaded softly, leaning onto Keodara’s arm as they slowly made their way down the hall. “I don’t...I don’t want her to know.”

Keodara looped her arm around Chen’s shoulder and steadied her closer to her side. “I had hoped...Raava, you are just like your mother.”

Chen paused. “....Do I want to know how?”

The younger healer regarded her sadly. Chen nodded. That look alone told Chen everything she needed to know. 

With that she hobbled onwards, stiffly nodding at Asami as she half-lowered, half-fell into her healing pool, the cold water seeping into the light green zhongyi she had been dressed in. She hissed. “Does it have to be so  _ cold?”  _

“We need to promote your blood and chi flow, my dear,” Ketsana said, carrying in two giant infusers. She and Keodara made quick work of disassembling them, the smell of teas lingering in the air. “Keodara, take the left canister and start working on Asami. I’ll take Chen.”

“Should we call Kya and Lin in, now that Chen’s up?” She gently sat Asami up and bent some of the water on her right shoulder. The girl momentarily tensed up but relaxed as the water brightened, her gaze off in the middle distance. If she felt Chen’s eyes on her, she didn’t show it. “Kya may want to perform a follow up of her own, and Lin--”

“Knows better than to intrude on a healing session. Chen, lean forward for me.” Chen complied, and stiffened as warm water was applied to her back. It coalesced onto her shoulder blades, and she relaxed as it spread to cover her entire back in a thin layer. The girl could feel Asami's eyes on her, watching as she was being healed herself. After a few moments Ketsana pulled the water away, depositing it in the nearby canister. “Good girl. Stay still.”

Chen held her body still as the water in her healing pool began to ripple about her. It began to get bright, uncomfortably so, and her legs began to tingle. “Mm, look at that water. Your chi is not happy today,” Ketsana noted, moving the water. 

The tingling turned to sharp stabbing, the force like knives driving their way through her legs. Chen cried out, then immediately covered her mouth. It hurt, but she was a Beifong. She could take the pain, let her take the pain--

The healer dropped the water, frowning. “That’s not good,” she murmured. “That is  _ not _ good.” She clasped her hands. “Keodara, how much do you have left on Asami?”

“I can stop now, her paths are stable enough.”

“Good. Asami, go. Get breakfast in the main house.”

The teen clambered out of the pool, and Keodara pulled the water from her light pink zhongyi. She bowed to the healers, and stiffly regarded Chen before departing.

Chen watched the doors close. “Try again, Auntie, please,” Chen begged. “I can take the pain, I  _ promise _ I can take it!”

Ketsana took a sharp breath, and her mouth drew into a tight line. “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” she said softly.  _ You sound just like your mother  _ floated through Chen’s mind. Just how often had her mother made that same entreaty to Ketsana? The healer brushed a few stray hairs off Chen’s forehead. “Keodara is going to watch you for a few minutes, okay? I’m getting your mom and aunt, I’ll be right back.” She pat the teen’s shoulder and darted off, sharing a meaning-laden look with Keodara before she slammed the door shut.

Chen leaned back and sighed. “It’s bad, isn’t it.”

She never asked a question for which she didn’t have an answer.

Keodara sighed and took a seat by Chen. “It’s not great,” she admitted, fidgeting with her hands. “But we’ll take care of it. And with your aunt here? It won’t be long before you’re right as rain, of that I have no doubt.”

The teen nodded, letting her head rest against the cool slate floor. Slight movement itched the back of her head, and she lifted her head up to see Mama, Auntie Kya, and Ketsana bursting through the doors of the healing hut. Auntie Kya anxiously scanned the room until she saw Keodara waving them over. In one fluid movement Kya knelt down and pressed a kiss to her niece’s forehead. Lin knelt down across from Kya to give her space to heal. She took Chen’s hand in hers and held it tightly, rubbing circles with her thumb. 

“Ketsana said you reacted badly to a healing session, hm? You want to tell me how it felt?”

Chen nodded. “It was tingly at first--kind of like when your foot falls asleep, but it was my legs instead.”

“Where did it start in your legs?”

Chen looked up for a moment. “The very top of my legs down to my toes. Why?”

An indecipherable look passed over Kya’s face.  _ Raava, please don’t let this be like Korra. _ “Just need to know so I can figure out where to start. Okay, so you can feel your legs. Can you stand up for me?”

“What’ll that do, Auntie?”

“Chi flows through our bodies just like water does in a river. By having you stand up, I’ll be able to see where I need to target. Do you think you can do that? Lin, could you--”

Lin immediately positioned herself to support Chen as she managed to stand completely upright, her legs shaking from the exertion. 

Kya nodded, her hand on her chin. “Good. Okay, can you take a baby step forward for me?”

Chen lifted her leg up and put her foot down gently. Her body buckled from the movement, unable to support itself. Kya and Lin both dove forward and caught the girl before she fell into the water.

“Okay, time to take you to the healing room,” Kya said, helping Lin fold Chen into her arms. She pulled the water out of their clothes and cast it back into the healing pool. “I was worried that was going to happen. Ketsana, Keodara, pack up some healing water for me, if you can? Plain will do.”

“Of course. Where do you want me to set it up?”

“Can it be in my bedroom, please?” Chen asked, lifting her head from its place on her mother’s shoulder. “I just...I want to go back to my room, please.”

Lin was about to protest when Kya held up her hand and gestured for Ketsana to get the water. “You can be healed in your room at this point. We won’t do any more pool healing until I see what’s going on, okay?” Chen nodded and relaxed against her mother. Lin pressed a kiss to her head and looked at Kya, eyes filled with worry.  _ Everything will be okay,  _ Kya mouthed. 

Lin took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll show you to her room.”


End file.
